


For the sweetness of the past

by Felidae5



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), M/M, slightly AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-06-27 16:36:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 30,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19794790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felidae5/pseuds/Felidae5
Summary: Seven years after High School, everything has changed. Games have become a thing of the past, friends have been scattered and the great have fallen from grace.





	1. Chapter 1

_For the sweetness of the past_

It had happened so fast.  
With more and more wars flaring up all around the world, people just simply didn't have time anymore to play games. And the few who had the time, couldn't be bothered.  
In order to keep his decling empire afloat, Kaiba had been forced to sell a large quantity of his next-generation technology to warmongers, tyrants, politicians..the list became larger and more repulsive with every passing year. And then the online card game world had simply collapsed when the web fell apart.  
Taken hostage by militant governments, one country after had another just bliped off of the virtual charts. First to go were fundamentalistic states, then politically instable countries followed by the Third World and finally the industrial elite.  
Black Crown had fallen almost immediately after the first wave had hit home; Kaiba had been quick to gobble it up.  
For a while, the remains of Industrial Illusions had stood between him and the inevitable end, but once it had fallen, there was nothing to safe the Kaiba Corporation.  
Needless to say, when the first reports came in from various Kaiba production plants being either annected, shut down and in some cases even razed to the ground, Kaiba had taken what was left of his empire, made certain that Mokuba was well cared of and disappeared off the face of the earth.  
That had been three years ago.

Running, cursing like a sailor, Jounouchi Katsuya ran through the downpour. Of course, the first time he set foot into his hometown after four years in the navy, it had to rain.  
Still, if memory served him right, there was a crop of abandoned warehouses just around the corner. He could wait out the rain there.  
Wearing his landing uniform, Jou was not worried about being mugged; his extensive combat training and still well-honed street skills would be enough to keep him remotely safe.  
Opting for a semi-intact roof, when the rain became harder, he paused; no point of erring around half blind due to the torrent.  
He felt the presence of the other before he heard the footfall. Glancing over his right shoulder, he could make out a tall shilouette. Gracefully, the stranger came closer. A man, he discerned by the strong set of the jaw and overall appearance. Long dark hair, brown or black, he couldn't tell, spilled over his broad shoulders, tired, ebony eyes grazing him with barely restrained ennui.  
"Ne, bishounen, are you lost or lonely? Either way, I can help you out."  
Jounouchi's mouth dropped open. Amber eyes widened in distrust and disbelief, when he rasped,  
"Kaiba? That you?"  
The other male stiffened imperceptibly.  
"Everyboy keeps mistaking me for him. Trust me, when I tell you that-"  
"I'd recognize that voice anywhere", interrupted Jounouchi. He took off his hat, which he had worn until that moment, to reveal his golden hair that had been braided into a long ponytail and tucked underneath.  
All the blood drained from Kaiba's face.

"What happened?" he asked, warming his hands at he small fire they had managed to light. Kaiba stirred it slightly, evoking a cluster of sparks, before replying,  
"War. I..was forced to basically design better commanding and operating software for cruise missiles, fighter jets, surveillance..everything."  
He exhaled; a low, shuddering breath.  
"It..really went downhill once they began shutting down the web. I launched my own, national netware. Then I activated a little virus; a bug that woud render all my elite programs useless, once fed into a military mainframe. It was..a failsafe I had enscripted, once I realized there was no way around shaking hands with the devil. In retaliation, they destroyed my overseas subsidiaries. KaibaLand, my DuelMonster academy..one by one was either closed due to neglect, because the staff, visitors or students were threatened, or shut down under suspicions of espionage."  
His eyes, their normal blue hue now sans the tinted contacts, locked with Jounouchi's.  
"There are several countries that issued a manhunt. A couple more where I would face the death penalty."  
For a while, they remained silent, then Jounouchi mumbled,  
"I'm sorry."  
Kaiba tilted a brow in a way that erased any lingering doubts the blond might have had about his identity.  
"Your academy..it was our fleet who shut it down."  
Brown eyes danced with remorse.  
"Being a former duelist, I was..forced to lead the deportation troups. The higher ups figured, that my former status would invoke trust in the kids and make them more compliant."  
Kaiba gave something akin to a ghost of a smile.  
"It worked. I remember it well. You had given them twelve hours, until the next sunrise, to pack their belongings and say their goodbyes. While your troops tried to salvage as much from the facilities as possible."  
Jou shrugged.  
"I figured it was the least I could do."  
Kaiba nodded.  
"It was exemplary; aside of a few minor injuries suffered by the usual brawlers, the entire action was executed to perfection. Not to mention that the returned goods helped me reburse my students for the -inconviniences."  
Another shrug. Silence fell upon them, this one comfortable. Then Jou queried,  
"So, how have you kept yourself afloat since then?"  
The brunet turned his head to look at the blond.  
"I thought I made that quite obvious."  
A pained look crossed Jounouchi's features. He took Seto's chin into his hand, his thumb carresing the strong jawbone, rasping,  
"Gods, Seto..."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
So, Jou is a navy officer, Kaiba a man on the run selling his body...let's see where this leads us, ne?


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Jou found Seto..what about the others?

ll

He tried to edge himself deeper, trying not to hurt. Seto was so tight, and Jounouchi reveled in the warmth of his body.  
They were naked under, between the layers of blankets and sleeping bags; their wet clothes hung up to dry around the fire.  
He had taken Seto up on his offer; less out of lust but for comfort. A need of familiarity, a desire of grasping onto something, someone who would not be judgmental, who knew where the other came from, who remembered the odd companionship that had bound their ragtag group together. Now, their hardened bodies entwined, twisted, writhed as the heat began to surge.  
Jou pushed himself up to look at Seto, then lowered his head to kiss him.  
Kaiba turned away.  
Jou looked at him, stunned.  
"Nan de-?"  
"Whores don't get kissed on the mouth. You should know that."  
Eyes, once amber, now almost black with want, narrowed.  
"You're no whore to me. Never mind what others see in you. Right now, I'm with a lover. My lover. Even if it's only a one-night stand, you're still my lover."  
Blue locked with brown, searching, weighing.  
Realization hit Katsuya.  
"Kaiba, could it be..you've never been kissed?" The brunet merely looked away. Jou's expression softened.  
"Ok, I get it. Saving that one last thing for someone special...I get it."  
He bent down again, placed one gentle kiss beneath Seto's earlobe. Continuing a trail of small pecks down the strong collumn of the neck, he whispered,  
"I'll then just have to make due with the rest of you."

Seto awoke the next morning, warm and sated. Stretching carefully, he looked around.  
Jounouchi stood there, closing the last buttons of his uniform jacket. He noticed Kaiba staring and smiled.  
"Morning, lover. Sorry for leaving like this, but I got to report back to ship. Should have done so last night, but I got somehow..preoccupied." He smiled some more, as he sauntered over and knelt down next to the brunet. Again, a calloused hand drove over soft, pale, slightly stubbly skin.  
"Will you be here tonight? If yes, I'll bring dinner."  
Kaiba's gaze turned cool, and Jounouchi felt a pang of nostalgia, a sense of rightness run through him.   
"I don't need your charity."  
True enough, there he was, the cold, arrogant, brilliant CEO who had taunted and humiliated and put him down time and again. It was as if a piece of normalcy had returned.  
Jounouchi smirked in reply.  
"It's not charity. As I said, you're my lover now. Which would make this a date."  
"A date?" echoed the brunet astonished.  
Jou nodded and winked.  
"Sure. Beef stripes still your favourite? Or was it filet mignon?"  
His face was pure astonishment, when Kaiba muttered,  
"You still remember that?" Jou laughed.  
"Sure, you teased me often enough because I had such difficulties spelling it properly."  
It was Kaiba's turn to smirk.  
"I could do with some decent beef. It's been quite a while since I had any."  
Jou nodded again.  
"Hai. Beef it is then. Do we meet here or do you have another hideout?"  
Waryness crept into Kaiba's eyes.  
"I think for the moment it's best if we meet here."  
Jou smiled again, then gave Kaiba a quick peck on the cheek and was gone, just like that.  
Seto decided to skip work for a day.

"Well, it looks like someone got laid last night!" bellowed his commanding officer. Jounouchi forced back a wince; while he was brilliant at his job, there was no denying that chief petty officer Himura Rikuto was a complete and utter bastard.  
Jou stood to attention, answering,  
"Reporting back, chief officer."  
The elder man nodded, then dismissed him. He hated the blond, who in merely four years had managed to make it from a mere cadet to petty officer first class. Actually, he could have been much higher up, but Himura made certain to undermine Jounouchi's career with all he could. As if he would ever allow the dirty half-caste to become warrant officer, leave alone insign.

Back in cabin, Jou couldn't help the grin crossing his face. So, Kaiba was still alive, not well, given he had to support himself by selling his body, but it was easy to see that his spirit had not been broken.  
Jounouchi was relieved to know that.  
His old circle of friends had been ripped apart by machinations far beyond their control. First one had been Anzu; since she had been enrolled at college, her green card had been turned into a forced citizenship. It had been either that or face expulsion. And when the US had issued an embargo on all but a few select countries, the brunette had been stranded in a foreign country.  
Yuugi had chosen the worst possible moment to return from Egypt after a lengthy dig. Being accused of fraternizing with terrorists, he had spent half an year in jail before finally being released. For another eight months, he had been put under house arrest before being allowed to roam about freely. However, he was not to set foot outside the Domino prefecture without judicial permission.  
As for Honda..he had gone from quasi brother to brother-in-law five years ago, when he married Shizuka. Everything had gone well; there had been a baby underways...  
Then the bombing happened. It had been, in comparison, something minor. But it had evoked an earthquake, which had caused the building the small family had been in at the time, to collapse. They had been dug out alive and rushed to the hospital. Aside of a few major bruises, some sprained wrists and ankles and one broken leg for Hiroto, they had survived the ordeal unscathed. The baby had been born three weeks premature, but strong and healthy. For three months, the Honda family had been happy and content and doing well..and then had just disappered.  
No note, no message; all their clothes and a large part of their belongings gone along with them. Never to be seen or heard of again.  
That had been two years ago, and still there had been no sign of them, alive or dead.  
Otogi was working for Kaiba Corp now, or what was left of it, alongside Mokuba.  
Ryou probably had hit it best; he was still allowed to enter and leave Japan, which kept a strong alliance with the UK, but Jou and him had scarcely seen each other due to the blond being mostly at sea. Still, they had remained good pen pals, updating each other about what was going on in their lives and what had happened to their friends. 

And now, he had found Kaiba. Under miserable circumstances, for sure, but at least the former CEO was still alive and kicking.  
Jounouci decided to head to the galley and see if he could wriggle some take-away beef out of the cook.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
I decided to move Yuugi-tachi a little out of the picture for the moment. I might get back to them.


	3. 3

lll 

Kaiba felt miserable.  
For over two years he had been forced to wander the outskirts and neglected areas of his hometown incognito, watching as Kaiba tower, his home, had been infested by conglomerate whores, bounty hunters and warmongers.  
At first, he had dyed his hair in screaming colours to make sure he popped out from the crowds like a sore thumb(who would even think that he would revert to his early teenage years and green dye). Later on, he had shaved off his hair, worn glasses of all variations, before settling on his current, rather androgynous look. He spent most of his money on tinted contacts, food, condoms, camping supllies -and health tests. He had become a regular at the various facilities performing STD tests; despite being a condoms only he'd rather not risk not knowing he had contacted something than sleeping with a full stomach.  
It was not that he had no actual money at hand, quite in contrary, he probably was still amongst the wealthiest people in Domino, but he had taken precautions and spread his vast fortune throughout the better part of the prefecture, long forehand.  
The problem now was merely to retrieve it without being spotted.

Jounouchi had practically purred his way into the cook's good graces.  
Luckily for him, the middle-aged woman had taken a shining to him, though she would never follow through. He had been shocked at first, when she had bluntly admitted to wanting to "whisk him away to a desert island and give him the time of his life", but then she had laughed and soothed hm by saying, he was at least ten years too young for her.  
Now, they would jokingly bat eyelashes at each other, especially if they wanted a favour.  
This is how Jounouchi ended up with a double helping of hearty beef stew, rice and tsukemono. The mochi variation was really just leftovers from the captain's dinner.

He wolfed it down.  
Jounouchi stared at the speed the brunet shoveled stew, rice and pickles into his mouth, reminding him of himself in his teenaged years.  
Only that Kaiba ate with the same dignified elegance as he always had.  
When the brunet reached for the mochi, Jounouchi pulled them away.  
"Dame desu. Let your stomach settle first, or you'll puke all over the place."  
Kaiba frowned, but obliged. Settling back onto his blanket, he let is eyes drift closed.  
"i haven't eaten this good since..I left home", he muttered, and Jounouchi's heart broke.  
He knew hunger, the sheer happiness whenever he had been able to eat his fill, the days he had often sustained on nothing but water, beatings and insults.  
Laying next to the brunet, he rested one hand lightly on this one's forearm.  
"I know the feeling" he whispered.  
They fell silent and eventually drifted off to sleep, as the fire died down.

"Ja, Jounouchi, she that hot?" whistled his roommate, as he entered the cabin the next day. Rolling his eyes, he decided to admit.  
"Hai. Pale skin, brown hair, cute ass, b-brown eyes and legs that go on forever", he replied smugly. His companion gaped.  
"Sheesh, is she a supermodel or something? Does she have a name?"  
Jounouchi just winked.  
"Wouldn't you love to know."

It was not safe here anymore.  
Kaiba rarely stayed more than two nights in the same location, and this was already his third day. Plus, with the traces Jounouchi left behind, it was easy to track him down.  
With quick efficiency the former CEO packed up his belongings and returned the makeshift camp into a semi-untouched state.  
Still, he couldn't just disappear without leaving Jounouchi a message of where he was going. While he was aware that making the blond seek him out increased the possibility of him being found and captured, he couldn't help it.  
For all his stoisism, the often disparaging, callous and distant behaviour, Kaiba was still human. And as all humans, he sought companionship, even if only to a small degree.  
The longest time, Mokuba had been his anchor, his best friend and confidant, but now, the brunet found himself starving for any kind of closeness aside of the cold, toxic, impersonal touches of his customers.  
And now, of all people, Jounouchi had come and stumbled upon him. It was ironic, that within seven years, their entire lives had been turned asunder. Now the blond was the upwardly mobile, respectable white knight and he, Kaiba, had become a street rat.  
Blue eyes closed, as the brunet applied breathing techniques to refocus himself. There was no use on dwelling of what could not be changed. Instead, he had to think of a way to let Jounouchi know where to find him. Of course, he couldn't just leave a written message. But since the blond was a naval officer...

Blue jeans, faded red button down underneath a well-worn black jersey, dark sneakers...Jounouchi sighed in content; he had officially been released into freedom -well, cashed in his extra vacation days- and enjoyed being able to strut around in casual...  
Kaiba was gone.  
Amber eyes gaped at the telltale sign of the campfire, then looked around. Aside of the few crumbs of coal and ashes strewn about, the spot looked as if it had been deserted for weeks.  
Confused, slightly worried, the blond let his gaze roam freely. It fell on a strange little black bricolage sitting on the spot the sleeping bag had rested on. He squated down next to it and smirked at the crude REBD made from charred wood pieces. There was a small, silver shard wedged between its fangs. Jounouchi removed it and gazed at the carvings.  
34° 4' 0.8", 135° 8' 38.1"  
Jou cocked a brow, then pocketed the shard and turned back toward town.  
Time to gear up.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Let's see if anyone actually finds the spot...


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaiba lets Jou take a deeper look into his life..

"Kaiba, this is..amazing..!"  
Jounouchi cautiously stepped into the small cabin that was pocketed beyond the lower regions of the delapitated dockyard.  
From the outside, the shabby hut looked like it was about to collapse in on itself; the only thing keeping it up a few hapazardly bolted on girters and crudely attached boards. Inside, however, was an entirely different story.  
The partition wall had been broken down, creating the feel of a loft. The random girters were actually cleverly welded and mounted together slender straps of iron beams.  
What looked like planks was actually glass film with various wood prints. Everywhere there were bits and pieces of what looked like-  
"Your jet. I thought it had been shot down four years ago, when-"  
"It was on an autopilot test flight. We were well within our airspace, but some overzealous, trigger-happy moron decided, it was too close for comfort and it was gone."  
Jounouchi remained silent at the bitterness in Kaiba's voice; he knew how much the brunet had loved the aircraft. Personally, he would have not been caught dead riding in the rather questionable looking jet, but he understood Kaiba's feelings.  
Silently, he walked about the hideaway, noticing more and more details:  
a single bed that rested on four large metal blocks, which proofed to be shock absorbers on closer inspection. Shelfs, cupboards cluttered with various KaibaCorp memorabilia, in an alcove, displayed in manner of appearance, all DuelDiscs Kaiba had ever wielded, though they had clearly been tampered with.  
"I removed the GPS and rewired the entire hardware. The original software has been recoded, so it merely displays, but doesn't record or transit any data."  
Jou gave a wry smirk.  
"So if I beat you in a duel, I can't even brag about it, since there's no proof, ne?"  
Kaiba turned to face him.  
"As if you could ever beat me. When was the last time you dueled?" Jou, still smirking, sauntered closer and, coming to a stand in front of the brunet, reached into his pocket and pulled out an all too familiar rectangular object.  
"Dinner and a duel?"  
Kaiba's eyes inspected the card box, locked with Jounouchi's golden orbs..and the brunet smiled.  
Jou almost suffered a stroke.

"..place this card face-down and end my turn. You're on."  
"Uhn. I tap Sea Dragoons of Draconia and use its abilty. Then I place these two cards face-down and set Hayabusa Knight in attack mode before ending my turn."  
Kaiba glanced up.  
"You have become more cautious."  
Jounouchi gave an imperceptible nod.  
"I'm a petty officer, now. Comes with the trade."  
Kaiba set two cards face-down and flipped open his trap card, Trap Hole.  
"Trap Hole destroys your Hayabusa-" "I activate Broken Line, which negates and destroys Trap Hole. Gomen, Kaiba."  
A marron brow shot up.  
"Interesting. Well then, I set this card face down and activate my Axe Raider for a direct attack on your Hayabusa Knight."  
Jounouchi didn't react. Blue eyes scanned the other one's face. The blond was oddly calm.  
"Well?" queried Seto. Jou scratched his cheek sheepishly; a leftover tick from his teenaged years that had a strange, balming effect on the brunet. So transfixed on the moving digit, he almost startled when Jounouchi stated,  
"Ne, Kaiba, your Axe Raider is dead."  
Kaiba looked down at the playing mat.  
"Mou itte?" Jou pursed his lips, then flipped his second face-down card and answered,  
"You activated United We Stand, which gives Hayabusa an extra 800 attack and lifepoints. Unless you got something to increase Axe Raider's ATK, he goes kaboom."  
Kaiba scoffed and moved his Axe Raider to the Graveyard, ending his turn.  
"How did that come to happen?" he asked. Jou blinked in confusion.  
"Pardon?" Kaiba pointed at the Sea Dragooner.  
"You joining the navy. How come?" Jou sighed.  
"After high school, I worked two years as a lifeguard, before I was drafted. Guess they figured that being able to swim was sufficient to walk the plank. Figuratively."  
For a moment, each contemplated their next move.  
"Kaiba."  
"Hnnh."  
"...Seto."  
Azure eyes narrowed.  
"Katsuya."  
Hazel eyes turned sad.  
"How come?"  
Azure hardened into sapphires.  
"I did what needed to be done. Would _you_ believe that the great Kaiba Seto would roam the streets, selling his body for trinkets?"  
Jou shook his head, blond braid flailing left to right.  
"No, but..you're so resourceful. Just...look at this. You built yourself a fully functional headquarters from scrap. So, why..work the streets?"  
Seto frowned.  
"It's hardly a headquarters. It barely qualifies as a home. I'm still having problems retaining constant hot water. And some things I have to purchase in order to make certain that the according machinery works properly. Welding irons, gas cylinders..the list goes on and on."  
Jounouchi opened his mouth, but was halted by one of Kaiba's hands.  
"My fortune is spread all over town, but it is difficult for me to obtain without risking exposure. I am just too prominent to go unnoticed or not be remembered. For a prostitute without procurer it is imperial to avoid the red light district and constantly shift place."  
Jounouchi regarded the former CEO silently, then proffered,  
"I can get you, what you need. Even firearms, if need be."  
Kaiba's brows shot up, then furrowed again.  
"I will not accept any kind of payment or for you to be my sugar daddy, am I understood? So far, I faired pretty well without your aid and-"  
"Sheesh, back up already! I ain't paying you or anything!" defended the blond.  
"I like this place. Really. Besides, this is part of my old stomping grounds, so it's only natural when I go exploring around, ne?"  
Kaiba regarded him warily.  
"What do you mean, old stomping grounds? You didn't live in this chõme."+  
Jou gave a loop-sided grin.  
"So desu, but there's a short-cut that takes me home in under twenty minutes."  
His grin vanished.  
"Well, what's left of my home, at least."  
Kaiba mumbled,  
"Bombing or earthquake?" Hazel eyes darkened.  
"Does it really matter?" Seto shook his head.  
"Not really." He sighed.  
"Fine. You can help. I'll make you a list of the reqired implements. Please make certain that they're second-hand; they're less costly, harder to track and easier to hide amongst other debris."  
Jou nodded.  
"Got it. Oh, and Kaiba?"  
An annoyed huff.  
"My turn. Hayabusa uses his ability to make two attacks sequently in one turn. Say good-bye to your face-down cards."  
Kaiba growled and Jounouchi chuckled, when the brunet buried his Hiro's Shadow Scout and Lord of Dragons.  
It was going to be a long night.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
So, there you go. Jou and Seto all growed up and able to have a decent, heartfilled conversation. Just..how long will this quasi-friendship last? Also, I decided for this fic Jououchi senior to be dead.

+chõme: city district

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over what, fifteen years of writing YGO fics, and I still can't duel my way out of a paperbag. It took me four times as long just to research and stitch together these few turns than to write the entire chapter. If anything I wrote is totally incorrect, I apologize.  
> And I still think Kaiba's jet looks ridiculous.


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another mix-up of chapters..let's hope, this will be the last one

V

"I really like this place."  
"So I noticed. Why, are you planning on moving in?"  
"No, not really."  
"Though I wouldn't mind if you did."  
"Neither would I." Jou tilted his head.  
"Then-"  
"But it's not safe. For you."  
Kaiba met his eyes, and Jou sighed dejectedly. The bunet regarded him, thoughts running a mile a minute through his head. A startling conclusion gave him pause.  
"Do you have a home?"  
"No, not really, but..."  
When are you due to board ship?"  
"..Four months."  
"From now?"  
"Landing date." The brunet scowled.  
"You have been here for approximately six weeks."  
"Shirimasu."  
Kaiba gazed into Jounouchi's sad, hesitant eyes.  
"Doko ni?"  
The blond sighed.  
"Aboard, mostly, sometimes at the Naval boarding house, the odd motel..."  
He gave a wry smile.  
"Once at the Tanchou+ Inn."  
Kaiba froze and stared.  
"Tanchou..are we talking about the same Tanchou Inn? The eldest, most renowned ryokan of Domino City? The one, even the Imperial family as been known to visit?"  
Jou grinned; his old, trademarked, toothy grin.  
And for a second, Seto just wanted to hang on to that wide, smiling face; capture that tiny slither of the past that winked at him within his hands, that remainder of a past he yearned to return to.  
Instead, he was brought back to reality, when Jounouchi's older, more matured, almost accent-free voice stated,  
"It was a bonus. Our entire crew could choose from a selection, and I settled for this one. Three nights at a ryokan of my liking."  
His smile grew a little more somber.  
"I still got two nights left." He hesitated.  
"Or one single one, if I bring along a guest."  
Seto wanted to say no, to decline, to reason why it was far too dangerous for him to be seen at such a prestigious place.  
Instead, he opened his mouth and heard himself say,  
"I..need to think about it."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
I really, really, really have to stop posting chapters in the wee hours of the morning. Once more, this should have made it into the story waaayyy earlier. Gomen nasai.

+Tanchou: red-crowned crane; the iconic Japanese Dancing Cranes


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An odd chapter, and somewhat sad. Keep your hankies close.

Vl

Of course he had heard the weather forecast.  
Of course he had thought of bringing an umbrella along.  
Of course he had packed in a light weather jacket.  
Of course he had left the jacket at the coffeeshop.  
Of course he had forgotten his umbrella on the train.  
Slender legs carried their owner further downtown, then into the slightly more worndown area of Domino. Not even remotely close to the slums, it was obvious that this chõme had seen better times. Then again, so had all of Japan.  
Trying to shield his head with a newspaper, the young man pressed his grocery bag against his chest in an attempt to keep the goods remotely safe from harm.  
As he rounded a corner, he thought he saw movement from the corner of his eye, but was in too much of a hurry to take a second glance.  
Only a few more blocks...  
The arm shot out of an alley and snatched him by the shoulder, pulling him into the darker road.  
Terrified, the man dropped his newspaper, twisting and flailing with his free arm. Snippets, images, memories of cold walls, rough voices, endless days and longer nights-  
"Yuugi! Yuugi! Is that really you?!? It's me, Jou! Jounouchi Katsuya!"  
The drenched man froze, then gazed through his soaked bangs up at his would-be attacker.  
"Jounouchi...kun?" Amethyst eyes, wide with anxious incredulity and a faint glimmer of hope, took in their vis-à-vis.  
"Hai. The one and only!" Jounouchi beamed. Then his expression softened, when he added,  
"I'm back Yuug'. Back from the seas."  
Tears welled up, drowning large, slighly slanted eyes, running down pale cheeks, then Yuugi threw himself at his best friend and sobbed hysterically into this one's chest.

Kame Game shop was still exactly as it used to be.  
And, against all gossip, it was still running.  
Being the last place that still sold any kind of merchandise to fairly reasonable prices and also held a real vault of DuelMonsters cards, it was a Mekka for those who sought them.  
It had also become a refuge, a safe haven for those who still played card games.  
Yuugi had closed the shop for the day; it was not as if any customer would dare drop by in this downpour.  
Sitting next to Jounouchi on the faded couch, the former King of Games listened to the blond spin his sailor's yarn -literally- and reveled in the fact that Jou was making a life for himself.  
Naturally, Jou had heard of Yuugi's mishappenings, trials and hardships, but decided against commenting on them.  
Finally, he ended, and looked at his friend with a quiet, somber smile.  
"I really missed you, Yuugi", he admited. Yuugi returned the smile and nodded.  
"Watashi mo sou desu,+" he whispered, "it does get lonely here, now that oji-chan is gone."  
Jou wiped a single tear from Yuugi's face.  
"Why not move in with Mokuba? I'm sure there's enough space in that mansion of theirs-his" he corrected. Yuugi shook his head.  
"It has been sold. The KaibaCorp Tower, his safehouses, labs, stores, cars, all gone. What's left of Kaiba Corporation is being run from the former Industrial Illusions headquarters."  
Jounouchi's jaw dropped. If it hadn't been for the cruel harshness of the situation, he would have laughed at the irony. Instead, he snapped is mouth closed and muttered,  
"But..then..why _not_ move in with Mokuba? I'm sure the kid would love the company..."  
Again, Yuugi shook his head.  
"Impossible. He's living with Otogi now, and I'd just be a third wheel. Besides, I still got the game shop to run."  
Jou scowled.  
"Then what about Ryou? I bet he's lonely too, and there's enough space over there."  
The star duelist mumbled,  
"He's gone half of the time, and his house feels even more empty when he's not there."  
He gazed around the living room.  
"At least, this is home."  
Jou regarded his best friend, a pang of nostalgia hitting him, and he knew for a moment, the shorter man saw and heard the same things he did: the laughter of friends, the squabbling of youth, candle lights on a birthday cake, endless nights of dueling, the smell of ramen, fried soba, curry, pizza and omurice...  
Jounouchi's eyes returned to his friend, as he took in his attire.  
Gone were the choker and spiked hair from his teenage years; instead his blond bangs were still fashioned as before, while the rest of his hair had been combed to one side and was being held together by a string.  
A powder-blue sleeveless vest, midriff, played with the teal pullover he wore, which accented the fact that he had gained some muscle. The wide, studded black belt had been replaced with a slender, brown version with a round, polished buckle.  
No jeans or leather pants, instead casual, mahogany slacks hid his slim legs. Jounouchi reached out and shyly touched the scar on Yuugi's scalp. The young game shop owner turned around, even as Jou let one roughened finger ever so tenderly glide over the faint, pink line running from Yuugi's cheekbone halfways to his chin.  
"I honestly missed you, Yuugi", he rasped, voice thick with emotion. Yuugi's eyes filled anew with tears, when he choked,  
"I..really, really missed you. Katsuya." He lowered his head, gazing at the carpet.  
"Would..would you mind holding me?" he asked timidly. Jounouchi reached out, wrapping his best friend in a warm embrace, as he kissed his forehead.  
The two young men spent the rest of the night on the couch.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
This chapter came out of literally nowhere. Originally I had intented to..but that's for later.

+So do/did I


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little travel into the past; a little speck of hope for the future...it is a lengthy chapter.

Vll

They had not even cleared away the debris.  
Had this been one of the more affluent chõme or downtown Domino, the hollowed-out buildings would have been all long razed to the ground for a memorial park or structure.  
Instead, the ruins just sat there, victim to the wind, weather and decay, even as their still intact quarters offered shelter for the lost souls of the city.  
Jounouchi had been coming here, every day since he returned, trying to find bits and pieces of what was left of his childhood in the blackened construction, scorched area. He swallowed, as his jaw tightened; he remembered..

"-interrupt our program for a special news bulletin. About twenty minutes ago, a bombardement of missiles have hit various cities across Japan. The attacks were -"  
Jounouchi Katsuya, twenty-one, newly promoted to seaman, watches in utter horror as livefeeds from all around Honshu, Kyuushu and Okinawa flitter across the screen.  
Cries, screams of pain, rage, loss echo through the galley, the watchroom, as the crew witnesses their homes, families, hopes, icons being blown apart; the fleet too far away than to do more then make it back in time to bury the dead.  
The Yutagawa hot spring turns into an exploding geysir, when the missile hits it dead on; boiling water and deadly vapor turning the onsen into a steam cooker.  
In Yamaguchi, the bells of Xavier's memorial church toll once more, as the towers sag and tumble to the grounds.  
3700 stone Buddhas weep, as the west side of Rakanji temple is torn asunder.  
A path of fire sears through one of Chizu's prestigious cedar nurseries and destroys part of the Chizu express' railroad tracks.  
What is left of Dogashima's famous cruise boats after the incinerated harbour crumbles into the shallow waters, is barely recognizable.  
And then, a familar skyline, the heralding screech of desaster, a split second before the last missile finds its goal-  
"Outou-san! Noooo! Outoou-san!" Jounouchi screams, cries, roars, rages, pleads as he sees his old home, his former neighbourhood turn into an inferno; it takes five men and two injections of Lorazepam to sedate him.

He had long left home by that time.  
The first thing he had done, the morning after graduation, when most of his schoolmates were still curing their hangovers, he had packed his meager belongings, strapped them on Honda's Yamaha and driven them to his new place. In three rides, all his things, including futon, had been moved.  
It had been tiny; bathroom, kitchenette, single bedroom, but closer to his work, as he had had acclaimed a steady income as lifeguard. He had still supported his father, every so often checked in on him to make sure he ate some real food and had clean clothes, but otherwise, had kept his distance.  
One down, three over..Isoide oba-chan's appartment. Four up, four over..his old window. Two down, one over...Jounouchi played this game every single time he came here. Just because the city, the world had forgotten them, he wouldn't forget he people he had lived door to door with.  
The people he had failed to protect.

"Hand me the welding iron, please."  
Jou reached for the tool and safety goggles, then went to plane the hardwood board into shape. Coaxing it into position, he used a spirit level to make sure it sat correctly, made the accoding marks and began to drill the needed holes.  
He loved this; while Kaiba was more apt with electronics and metal, Jou's passion and talent clearly lay in carpenting. Both him and the brunet had been surprised at how well Jou could make even the sturdiest plank mold to his whim.  
Currently, the two young men were busy enforcing the carrier beams and girters of the cabin, while working on an irrigation plan to help catch rainwater in order to grow vegetables and feed the bathroom tank, as it were.  
Jou had gifted Kaiba with each a tomato stalk and an egg plant. He was worried about the former CEO's health and eating habits and had made it his personal task to "put some meat on that cute, bony body of yours".  
Kaiba had merely cocked a brow and set the plants in front of the window.

"So, what about mirror glass?" mused Jou. Seto shook his head.  
"Too difficult to obtain, and the reflected light would draw even more attention."  
Jounouchi nodded, brow furrowed in concentration.  
"Exra-fine curtains won't work either, because the filtered sunlight wouldn't be strong enough to keep the plants alive."  
Kaiba huffed.  
"Same goes for transparent foil." Jou blinked.  
"Transparent..transpa...how about holographic projection?"  
Kaiba sat a moment confused, then his eyes widened in realization.  
"Mochiron, if we attach two small solar panels..it doesn't have to be complex, just a still image.."  
His brain was already running through the possibilities and obstacles. Jounouchi smiled, as he watched the brunet begin to hastily scribble down layouts and ideas and notes.  
This was the part he liked the most about the brunet; when inspiration claimed him and he turned into a creative frenzy.  
Jou watched the blue eyes shine and sparkle, the slight blush on the cheeks, the muttered exclamations and worrying of the lips, excited breathing, driving of his hand through his hair...  
This version of Kaiba Seto he wouldn't mind falling in love with.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Kaiba's oblivious and inventive, Jounouchi is melancholic and developping feelings...we shall see.  
All the places mentioned in this chapter are rather famous visiting spots; go check them out, if you get the chance. The Okinawa Islands are in and by themselves a national treasure, thus the mentioning of any particular site is unnecessary.

For a _very_ loose idea of what Seto's hideout looks like, go here:  
https://www.deviantart.com/felidae5/art/Sweetpast-806869118


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another odd chapter with a small twist...

Vlll

Abe Yasuo, aged fifty-eight, had spent most of his live within Domino.  
Being a third-generation hardware store owner, he had come to learn to read his customers with little more than a customary glance.  
The tall blond foraging through the mortar section of his small store screamed soldier from every pore. Yet, there was something unmistakeably familiar about the blond hair, broad shoulders and strong jaw.  
Finally having made his choice, Jou set the forty pound bag of grout on the vending table along with a brick trowel and shovel.  
While ringing the items up, Abe grunted,  
"You planning on building a pool or something?"  
Jou shook his head.  
"Ie, just, you know, trying to salvage my old place."  
A bushy greying eyebow was tilted.  
"You from around here?" This time the blond affirmed.  
"Hai, used to live in the chõme northeast the harbour."  
"Oh".  
The elder man's face showed open dismay.  
"Go-gomen, I didn't know.."  
Jounouchi shook his head.  
"It's okay. It's..not like we could have done anything about it, ne?"  
For a moment, the two men fell silent in rueful contemplation, then Jounouchi cleared his throat and asked,  
"Could you add the small portable concrete mixer too, please?"

Being multi-purpose, the tiny mixer made for an excellent wheelbarrow, covered with an old, battered burlap sack. Jounouchi meandered his way through off-beat streets, miniscule alleys and forgotten shortcuts to Kaiba's secret storage(which was literally a hole in a wall, hidden behind mouldy, decrepit laths).  
In the dim light of the dying day, Jou counted their stock as he stowed his acquires away.  
Kaiba would be so happy, now that they could begin on strengthening the window frames and tile the bathroom.

He couldn't believe his eyes.  
There lay Seto, on a carry-on matress, legs spread and waiting for the other man to enter him.  
A feral, angry streak of possessiveness ran through him, as he marched over and yelled,  
"Hey! Hey you! Get off him, this instant!"  
The customer, a man in his thirties, glanced up at the blond.  
"The fuck? Wait till it's your turn, man!" he snapped. Jou pulled the other one up none too gently, growling,  
"I said, get off of him."  
Something in his eyes made the other one slightly wary. Not wanting to show his fear, he hissed,  
"What's the matter? You his pimp, or something?"  
Jou gave a smug smirk.  
"As a matter of fact, yes I am."  
The poor guy looked in exchange from the blond to Seto and back, then narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the brunet.  
"You got a pimp?" Before Seto could answer, he homed in on Jounouchi.  
"How come I haven't seen you around this place, huh? How come he never mentioned-"  
"I spent the past two years in jail. Didn't want my little honeypot to be sucked up by some random ponce, so I told him to stay as far away from the other birds as possible."  
Jou reached a hand out in a demanding manner.  
"And knowing that you haven't paid up front, I'll take a penalty. That will be twelve-thousand Yen, please."  
The john's mouth dropped.  
"Twelfve-thou-but I didn't even get started! Hell, I didn't even get a blowjob!"  
Jou merely regarded him cooly, then turned his gaze to Seto.  
"Is that true? You let him mount you without giving him a blowjob first?"  
He sighed and, kneeling down in front of Seto, who was sitting upright now, stated,  
"Sweetie, sweetie, sweetie. I'm afraid we'll have to start training you all over again."  
Uncertainty flickered over Seto's face, clear enough that the jilted customer recognized it. Who gave a wild smirk and bellowed,  
"Hey, if it's training he needs, I volunteer to coach him. For free, of course."  
Twin sets of icy glares set on him, then Jounouchi rose and said in a dangerously low voice,  
"You couldn't even train a fish to rise for bait. How do you think you could handle such a gorgeous, fierce creature as my pet?"  
For a moment, they locked eyes, then the john looked away and made to retreat. Jou sneered,  
"I'll let you off easy, this time. I'll even waive the penalty. But if I ever see your greasy face around here, I'll fucking castrate you and hang you up from your entrails, wakata?"  
The elder man nodded and raced down the road, soon to be out of sight.  
Giving a contended sigh, Jou turned to face Seto-  
the right hook caught him square in the jaw. As he held is hurting chin and tried to will away the stars, he heard the brunet snarl,  
"You godforsaken, fucking idiot! You just cost me thirty-thousand yen and a potentional frequenter! Do you have any idea what you did?"  
Jou rubbed his chin, then rose to his full height and stated coldly,  
"I claimed you."

Kaiba Seto had forgotten that, even as a scrawny teenager, Jounouchi Katsuya had been an admirable fighter.  
The years since then had worked in his favour.  
Standing now almost as tall as the former CEO, the blond's healthier diet and streinous living style had added some serious muscle to his still lanky figure.  
And then there was the training, of course.  
Seto couldn't remember his ass being handed to him like this since before he acclaimed his brown belt.  
For all appearances sulking, Kaiba now sat on his bed, back in his hideout, while Jounouchi fussed over him.  
"-get you back in shape, I mean, you should have seen that roundhouse kick coming from a mile!" he babbled, pressing a cold, wet cloth against Seto's bruised eye and rapidly swelling cheek. The brunet merely scowled, then winced imperceptively at the pain the grimace caused.  
"Honto de; I'd rather you helped me find a spot where we can bring your fighing skills back to height, than opening your legs for every Jun, Shin and Taro. It's just not safe."  
Kaiba gave a very familiar annoyed grunt.  
"'m condoms only, 'nd exclusively men", he mumbled past his swollen lips. Jou sighed.  
"That's not the point and you know it."  
Blue locked with concerned brown.  
"I' pick them very c'refully. 'lways make cert'n I can 'ther outrun or overpower them."  
"Learned from experience, ne?"  
"Risk assessment management."  
A blond brow shot up, even as the impaired Kaiba smirk made the brunet's eyes glint.  
"How do you think I've been able to stay at the top this long?"  
Jou scoffed.  
"What works on the business level doesn't always apply to he real world. _Especially_ not the streets. You should be glad I intervened and saved you."  
Kaiba was baffled. Giving an uncharacteristic shriek, he chortled,  
"You declared yourself my procurer and beat the hell out of me."  
Jounouchi glared back.  
"Hai, and in case the other guy circled back, he now knows that a) you're no pushover and b) I don't fuck around."  
They fought a silent, heated war, then Kaiba snarled,  
"Whatever. I can't go picking up customers looking like this, anyway."  
Jou let out a breath of relief.  
"Sou desu, ne. Now, you get some rest, and tomorrow we can get back to working on that irrigation plant."  
Kaiba blinked in utter disbelief.  
"Did-did you go through all this trouble, just so I would be forced to stay indoors and work on the shack?"  
Jou shrugged.  
"Not really, but well, you know me, ever the opportunist."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
*snicker* I just imagined Jou's facial expression when seeing Seto at work. I know, it's not really funny, but I couldn't resist.

Kaiba might appear to be rather low-priced, but considering he keeps the entire gain, he still makes more cash than most pimp-controlled prostitutes. Also, the freedom of being able to turn away undesirable clients is an invaluable plus.

12'000 Yen = approx. 110 USD  
30'000Yen = approx. 277 USD


	9. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter stage left..a quiet chapter and familar face.

lX

Jounouchi watched Kaiba weld a timer switch and light/image sensor hybrid to one of the solar panels the petty officer had managed to round up.  
It had been a real streak of dumb luck, that the navy headquarters was currently being remodeled, so a lot of salvageable construction material was up to grab for cheap for any naval members.  
Still, it had been quite a stryfe to get his chief petty officer off his back and trail. Himura really had it out for him.  
A faint sizzle drew his attention back to Kaiba.  
The brunet was soldering brackets onto the contraption, working with surgical precision.  
"I still don't get it", said Jounouchi aloud. Kaiba frowned behind his goggles and cup mask.  
Applying a pintip-sized amount of conductive silver, he reattached a wire he had removed for better maneuvering. Turning the welding iron off and removing his safety gear, he queried,  
"You don't get what?" Jou motioned at the contraption.  
"This. You're absolutely amazing when it comes to creating anything technical or electronical. I mean, you basically built a holographic projector from scrap, so why not put that ability to good use?"  
Kaiba suspected where this was going, but still asked,  
"Exactly how do you suggest me going about that?" Jou shrugged, then drove a hand through his bangs.  
"You could open a stall for repairs. You know, three-hundred Yen for a cell phone, five-hundred for a TV...you'd make twice the money without the..hassle. And risks."  
Blue eyes regarded his comrade for a while, then turned down at the projector.  
"I can't. I would give myself away." Jou frowned.  
"Give yourself -how come?"  
This time, when the azure gaze recaptured his, there was a strange mix of loss, pride and anguish in them. One that both surprised and pained Jounouchi.  
"My-my work. The quality and structuring of my designs is like a signature, a fingerprint. It's as unique as any great painter's art. People would recognize it and figure out that I'm not only not dead, but still within Domino City. It would be only a matter of time until they found me."  
Jou stood there, silently watching Seto glide long, elegant fingers over his handiwork, searching for any faults or lacks, then opted,  
"How about you teach me?" Kaiba looked up.  
"Come again?" Jounouchi nodded.  
"You teach me, monitor and coach me while I do the basic work. Then you move in for the finishing touches and more difficult details. I set up shop and handle the customers, while you can complete and correct whatever I screwed up and do the accounting. How does that sound?"  
Jounouchi Katsuya would never get enough of Kaiba Seto's relieved, grateful soft smiles.

Kaiba Mokuba thought he hadn't heard right.  
Pressing the intercom button, he said,  
"Repeat that, please."  
His secretary stated,  
"There is a Jounouchi Katsuya here, asking if you have time to see him. How shall I proceed?"  
Jounouchi..the name brought back a flood of images, memories both good and bad, a reminder of simpler, happier times, of..of..Seto. Swallowing the lump in his throat, the current president of the Kaiba Corporation barked,  
"Send him up, immediately! And cancel all other appointments."  
"Ha-hai, Kaiba-sama!" came the baffled reply.  
Mokuba sat down in his faded leather chair, the one his brother had used to occupy, way back when. Steepling his fingers, he tried to regain his inner balance. A curt knock at the door shook him from his reverie.  
"Come in!" he called. The door opened and in walked...something from a dream. As if stepping out from a childhood fantasy, Jounouchi Katsuya strode through the room towards him; taller, massier, more suave and mature and yet, he had not changed at all. His eyes were still as fiery and golden, his grin as infectuous and wide, his movements, though more regaled, still held that same energy that flickered like electric charge from his every muscle.  
"Konichi wa, Mokuba, and thanks for the invite." He came to a stop before the raven-haired younger Kaiba and smiled.  
"Ne, kid, how have you been? Haven't seen you since my graduation, way back-"  
And then Jounouchi found himself with a bundle of weeping, crying, sobbing Mokuba who clung to his shirt like a dying man.

"So you haven't seen Yuugi since, huh?"  
Mokuba, who had regained his composure, shook his head, reaching for his teacup.  
"Not since the trial, no. I posted bail, appointed him my lawyer, pulled several strings to help him reacclaim his inheritance...but after the grand reopening party of the game shop I only saw him once, and that was at his grandfather's funeral."  
A shadow of guilt and pain crossed Jounouchi's features.  
In his most dire years, his darkest hours, when he had needed him the most, his best friend had been all alone. All because Jou's fleet had been stationed at the other side of the world; locked in the throws of a silent war, uncertain truces and shaky alliances.  
If not for the mutual death penalty that would have resulted for both him and Yuugi, he would have deserted the navy and run to his friend's aid.  
Brown eyes gazed at the face that had grown so much more angular, sharper and fiercer than he remembered.  
"Arigatou gozaimashita, Mokuba. For everything."  
He drew a deep breath. A favour for a favour, he thought. Glancing about the office, he lowered his voice and muttered,  
"Are you sure this place is bug-free?" Mokuba snorted.  
"Please. Never mind how small, this is still the Kaiba Corporation. Feel free to share whatever secrets you have, they'll be safe here."  
Jounouchi drew nearer and, pressing his lips next to Mokuba's ear, whispered,  
"I think..I think I saw Kaiba the other day."

"Moshi moshi."  
"Jeez, Yuugi, is that how you reply the phone these days?" laughed Ryou. Yuugi froze for a second, then beamed,  
"Ryou! How good to hear of you again! Are you back or still overseas?"  
A soft chuckle, then,  
"No, I just got off Domino main station and am taking the bus home. You want to drop by for dinner or should-"  
"Dame desu" interrupted Yuugi, "no way am I making you stay over there and cook on your first night back! You drop your luggagge, then come over; I'll make some Yakisoba or something!"  
Again, Ryou chuckled.  
"Really, Yakisoba? Sounds like the good ol' times, right?" Yuugi nodded, then added in a quieter voice,  
"Jounouchi is back."  
Ryou gave a surprised sound.  
"He is? I remember him writing to me that his time was up sometime this year. But that was a while back, and I forgot about it." Yuugi swallowed the lump in his throat.  
"So he told you, but didn't tell me?" The Brit caught the hurt and betrayal in the duelist's voice and replied,  
"I know for a fact that he has been sending you letters all this time, even when they were stuck overseas. I'm pretty sure he wrote to you about his return, too."  
Amethyst eyes closed in defeat.  
"That..that means..." He trailed off. Ryou scowled.  
"It means what?" Yuugi fought the bile rising up.  
"They're still monitoring my correspondence."  
Ryou fell silent at that.

Jounouchi smiled, when he entered Kaiba's hideout through the deceptively defect looking sliding door. Today was the day the brunet had officially been permitted to use his newly overhauled, completely tiled, fully functional shower stall- complete with running hot and cold water, of course. Given, the flow heater sucked up quite a lot of the electricity both the solar panels and conglomeration of hub-dynamos-turned-tidal-power-station produced, but so far, it worked flawlessly.  
Now, the former genius child prodigy sat there on a small square bean bag, gazing out the reinforced windows at the grey and green endlessness of the sea.  
Softly, Jounouchi walked over and came to a stand behind him. Seto still searched for the answers to his life within the rolling grey and white and turqoise, brush in one hand.  
Jou went to get a chair and, setting it behind Seto's, placed his hand on the brunet's wrist.  
"Here, let me," he offered, as he made to take the brush. Seto handed it over wordlessly, and Jou sat down and began to groom his friend.  
Cautiously, softly, working from tip to scalp, one strand at a time, the blond cherished this quiet time with Kaiba. He had always admired this one's hair; it was fine and silky, unlike his own thick, sturdy tresses. It was not merely by choice that he wore his in a braid; after the first two months on sea, he had learned the hard way why most naval personell wore their hair either short or braided.  
A soft sigh roused him from his thoughts; obviously Kaiba was enyoing this just as much as he did. Gently, he continued his task, letting the whisps of copper and chestnut caress his fingers.  
Seto felt..not happy, but content. For the first time, since he was old enough to remember, all the stress, the tension, the weight and worry of the world fell off his shoulders, one brush stroke after another.  
Jounouchi was surprisingly careful while grooming his hair; the blond had obviously spent many an hour observing him, Kaiba, comb it. He knew where it was likely to snag, where he had to avoid pulling too hard, which spot was likely to tangle...  
Currently, he was working Seto's right temple which had remained sensitive ever after the events of what he called his personal Nagashino.  
He waited for the inevitable pull, which never came. Instead, Jounouchi wrapped a small amount of strands around three fingers, then gently placed the hand against Kaiba's temple and, with minute, featherlight strokes, eased the hairs apart.  
One, ten, two dozen strokes...Outside, the skies darkened, as rain set in. Between the pitter-patter of the falling drops, Jou's deep, even breathing and the tender, soothing brushes, Seto felt a sense of serene completeness encompass him. His eyelids grew heavy, the lines on his face softened and faded, even as he drifted off into a balming slumber.

He awoke with his face resting on a strange shoulder; his long pale arm thrown across a firm, muscular chest. Supressing a yawn, he gently shifted and tried to detach himself from the body next to him.  
"M..s.. go back 't sleep, babe," Jou's drowsy voice rumbled across his ear, "I'll wake y' fer dinner."  
Kaiba argued with himself for a minute, then deduced that with this rain work would be slow, and draped the blanket closer around them both.  
He felt Jou nuzzle his hair and was fast asleep, before he knew it.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
So much as to how Yuugi reacclaimed his old home and heritage. The grooming scene just felt right. As for Mokuba seeming a little...OOC, we all know how many charachter traits his ani shares with Jou.


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so terribly sorry about this; there was a mix-up of chapters. This is the actual chapter nine; the one I posted previously was not yet meant to go up. Note to self: don't add chappis at four am.

X

Kaiba Mokuba was so alike his brother.  
Ryuji Otogi sat in their office and regarded the CEO.  
Of course, the younger Kaiba was nowhere as egomaniac, power-hungry, distant, emotionally stunted and unbalanced as his ani, but he could be pretty high-maintenance, too.  
Like in this precise moment, or rather the past -Otogi checked his watch- twenty-three minutes and fourteen seconds, since he had entered the room.  
Mokuba was running in circles, literally, debating with himself, every so often muttering something under his breath the green-eyed Dice Master couldn't catch.  
Finally, the KaibaCorp president came to a halt, buried his hands in his raven locks and declared,  
"Alea jacta est. So be it."  
Otogi resisted rolling his eyes; for some odd reason, ever since he had become successor to Seto, Mokuba had decided to quote historic figures and bonmots. And while they were always accurate and well-timed, they tended to grate on Otogi's nerves. Before he could ask, however, Mokuba swerved to face him and, in an eerely Seto-like fashion stated,  
"Jounouchi Katsuya is back. He dropped by for a visit last week, while you were in Morioka."  
Otogi gaped, then leapt up from his seatee.  
"Honto de? Our blond maverick has returned home? How is he? It must have been, like, three years, or more", he exclaimed.  
Mokuba nodded.  
"Four. When the situation between the South-American Alliance and the US worsened, they were stuck between El Salvador and Peru, because the US had occupied the Panama channel -say, do you ever read the news?!?"  
Otogi waved off.  
"Far too depressing. Aside of the business sector and the weather forecast I usually only thumb through it."  
Mokuba glared, then pinched the bridge of his nose. Yes, definetly his ani's brother, thought Ryuji. The CEO drew a deep breath, tilted his head back and continued,  
"Anyways, it seems that Ryou is back in town, too. And that Yuugi has met with Jou, independently, so-"  
"But that's just great!" cheered Ryuji.  
"Half of the old gang is back together again! What better opportunity to throw a party is there? Let's call them up and get planning! I mean, we got so much to catch up..."  
He trailed off, when Mokuba shook his head.  
"Trust me, I thought about that too. But after we talked..I doubt it would be a good idea."  
Otogi scowled.  
"Doushite kara?"  
Storm-blue eyes turned dark and mournful.  
"Because..because Jounouchi feels guilty for not being there, when Yuugi needed him the most. He puts the blame of what happened to Yuugi solely on himself."  
He decided to keep what else Jounouchi had told him to himself.  
For the moment.

"No, no, the wire connector goes first, then you can remove the lead wires. Just remember to label them first."  
Jounouchi did as instructed, meticulously following Kaiba's orders. His second blender, and he still felt as if he were performing brain sugery. He began to understand what the brunet had meant, when he had claimed that his handiwork would be easily recognizable:  
Kaiba Seto was a perfectionist.  
He didn't merely settle for repairing the obvious damage, but also painstakingly cleaned, lubed, brushed, smoothened and often replaced any even superficially flawed parts of the dysfunctional appliance he was working on.  
Touching up any chipped-off paint, flattening dents or sealing split plastic parts were matters of course to him.  
Currently, there were two blenders, a toaster, a couple of game consoles and even a tiny laundry machine waiting to be brought back to life.  
So far, their little repair shop was a success, even if Seto often needed to be reminded to 'tone it down'. Ever since they had brought in their first batch of devices, the former CEO had returned to form. With a flourish, he breezed through the decrepit objects, calculating the estimated costs and fees while budgeting what missing construction materials he could obtain with the win.  
Jounouchi smiled, as he watched the brunet simultanously replace the lens of an XBox and overseeing his, Jou's, fumbling attempts at reassembling the blender.  
Truly, Domino's very own Blue Eyed White Dragon had reawoken.  
Yet, there were certain key elements still missing.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
By now it's apparent, that Jou misses his old spats and fights and wants his fierce blue-eyed rival back. But we can't always go back, do we?


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we're back up to par with the longest chapter so far. Also, there's lemon. Enjoy.

Xl

"Where on earth did you learn to apply make-up?" snapped the brunet. Jounouchi smirked.  
"When we were beached like a carp in Eçuador, we had very strict curfews and were only permitted to a very small area of Guayaquil. Needless to say, the natives, who had never seen real Japanese, were all over us like white on rice. They insisted we put on a Kabuki play for them. They even raised something of a fund to supply us with fabric, colours, whatever we needed. So, instead of drinking ourselves into a stupor we performed various traditional plays for them. Very watered down, of course."  
"Of course", replied Kaiba dryly, as Jou coated his strong jawline with more foundation.  
"Everything changed once we got to Brasil, though. The people there adored us and treated us like heroes. Once they learned about our little theatre group, however, they went berserk." Kaiba smirked, just to be reprimanded by Jounouchi's busy fingers.  
"Let me guess, Nou? Kyogen+?" The blond pressed his lips together.  
"Worse. Cosplay."  
Complete and utter silence.  
Kaiba's lips twitched.  
"Come..again..?" Jou grumbled something unintelligible and Kaiba smirked.  
"Say that again, because from where I'm standing it sounded like-"  
"Sailor Moon, okay? We had to put on a Sailor Moon live action roleplay." To his credit, Kaiba did a marvelous job containing his chuckle. He waited for Jounouchi to continue. Who remained stubbornly silent, applying dark cream foundation and distributing it with a sponge. The brunet smirked.  
"And what, oh pray tell, was your role in that little play?" Jou's face reddened, his hand, holding the highlighter, tensed ever so slightly.  
"Since I'm tall and lanky, they made me go as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Pluto."  
He drew a deep breath, spritzing some fixator on Seto's face and growled,  
"They also made me play one of the Sailor Star Lights, just to spite me."  
Upon Kaiba's puzzled expression, Jounouchi decided to take pity on him and describe in painstaking detail what the character looked like.  
Seto was still laughing when Jou had long finished blending in the bronzing powder.

Long, glossy chestnut hair pooled over silk-covered shoulders, held together with a simple bow. The obi was expertly tied(after about a dozen failed attempts), fingernails short, perfectly manicured and coated with a pearl pink polish.  
Too tall for either getas or zori, Kaiba had settled for simple, but elegant tabi. Peach, pale yellow and lilac were the main colour themes of his Furisode°, sprinkled with a white apple blossom print.  
Jounouchi had raided Domino's theaters, costume shops, second hand traders and even his workmates for everything from make-up to clothes and accessories in order to turn Seto into a sweet, chaste, well-mannered young lady. It didn't matter if he was outed as a transvestite, as long as no one recognized him as Kaiba Seto.  
Rising from his seat, Seto folded his hands over his stomach and asked,  
"Ja, what do you think?"  
Long lashes accentuated with a touch of mascara, a hint of dark coral on curvy, well defined lips and heavy eyelids, narrow, perfectly shaped eyebrows, high cheekbones and a slender nose...  
Jounouchi gaped for the longest time at his own artwork, then swallowed dryly.  
"If you get raped, it's not my fault" he rasped. And facepalmed, when his brain caught up with his mouth. Kaiba gave a low, disturbingly feminine giggle and hushed,  
"I'll take that as a compliment. Shall we?"

The ride from his fellow petty officer's empty flat, which they had used as a changeroom, was rather quiet. By now Jounouchi owned so many people so many favours, he didn't look forward to going aboard in the near future.  
Gently, the taxi came to a halt in front of the Tanchou Inn. Jounouchi payed the cab driver, then lead the way into the pristine halls.  
Being in the navy, he had of course been indoctrinated with both formal speech as well as etiquette, but still Jounouchi felt distinctly out of place. Despite wearing his landing uniform(a prerequisite on behalf of the navy), he considered himself hopelessly underdressed.  
Kaiba, in contrary, experienced a sense of homecoming. This was his world, this is what he had been groomed and raised for. Flawlessly adapting to his surroundings, he smiled behind his fan at how stiff and forced the blond petty officer responded to the nigh on ritualistic mannerisms of the staff.  
And then his blood froze. Bowing his head, he moved closer to Jounouchi, as the Nakai-san led them to their room. Copper-dusted mahogany curtained a porcelain-pale face; the two young men walked past an obese, wealthy-dressed business man.  
Araki.  
Of all his former business associates he had to happen upon this filthy, disgusting, lecherous pig, who had the attitude of a disgruntled rhino and the brains of a bullfrog.  
He was also a notorious, backstabbing, lying, conniving, spineless blabbermouth with an appetite for barely legal girls and boys.  
He felt the elder man's appraising eyes roam up and down his body, and Seto hurried to catch up with Jou, slightly tugging on this one's uniform sleeve. Jou turned his head, then smiled at his precious little blossom.  
"Ne, Sumiko, daijoubu ka?"  
Inwardly, Kaiba bristled at the nickname. Really, Violet girl? The blond couldn't have come up with anything dumber. Currently he felt more like *Sayuri; vengeful and full of wrath towards Jounouchi and the world. Opening his fan to hide his frown, he made a vague motion with his head.  
Jou tilted a brow, then ever so gently took Kaiba's elbow and steered him towards their destination, hushing,  
"Ne, koibito, you haven't eaten much all day. Once you get a little something in your stomach, you'll feel better."  
Seto, who still felt Araki's eyes on him, fought the chill running down his spine and nodded. At least now the tycoon knew that he belonged to Jounouchi and not to mess with a naval officer.  
The shouji# closed behind the pair.

Of all the changes the blond had undergone, his table manners were the most compelling.  
Given, he still ate his own bodyweight, but now at least he used the correct cutleries and kept his mouth closed while actually _chewing_ his food.  
At least the kitchen would not have to wonder about any missing bowls or chopsticks.  
Plus, he was being rather..sweet to Kaiba.  
Almost sickeningly so.  
Picking out the best morsels and offering them to his beautous companion, he was basically trying to feed the brunet.  
Who was having none of it.  
"I am perfectly capable of eating on my own, thank you very much", he stated cooly. Jou merely grinned.  
"Sure, but you wouldn't want for me to gobble up all the best pieces, ne? I mean, what kind of lover would I be if I did that?"  
Kaiba tilted an exquisite brow.  
"Lover? Since when?"  
Jou feigned a mock heart attack, then wailed,  
"But-but-oh, what cruelty this beauty entrails; how cold and distant is her heart. Yet, like a flower to the sun, I can't help but be lured in time and again by her sheer grace."  
Kaiba waited for the moment to settle, then deadpanned,  
"I didn't know this kaiseki^ came with an owarai.~"  
At least Jounouchi's facefault was still the same as in high school.

Knowing what was expected from him, Kaiba had watched his diet the previous two days before their little romantic excursion. After their opulent meal, they had taken a nap and then visited the onsen. Kaiba had left half an hour prior to Jounouchi in order to cleanse and prepare himself for intercourse.  
He had barely exited the bathroom, when Jounouchi had come waltzing in and occupied it ever since. So, Kaiba was left waiting underneath the luxurious cotton and silk sheets.  
Unexpectedly, their suite didn't come with a futon, but a Western style bed. Though nowhere as tall as those in modern hotels, it was still an odd sight.  
"I paid extra for that."  
Jou stood in the door, leaning against the frame, legs crossed at the ankle. The light spilling from the bathroom highlighted the curtain of gold spilling past his shoulders and curling on his left chest.  
His damp skin glowed, the moisture accenting every sinew. Kaiba let his gaze roam up and down the rather delectable image and suddenly realized that he had never seen Jounouchi with his hair down.  
His tongue slid over his lips, as he felt the familiar stirring in his groins. Of all the men he had ever been with, Katsuya was the only one who had always managed to rattle his cage, one way or another.  
As if having read his thoughts, the blond prowled over and slunk his way across the bed. Placing his lips against Seto's ankle, he proceeded to kiss and nip his way up the brunet's endless long limbs, never breaking eye contact.  
Kaiba gave a low sound; he was not used, not expecting to enjoy this. But Katsuya obviously got off of pleasuring him, if the way he left tiny bitemarks and hickies all over Seto's legs was any indication.  
Jounouchi slid his forearms underneath the brunet's thighs and drove his tongue over Seto's balls.  
The brunet gasped as the line of liquid fire burned itself through his crotch, belly and chest straight into his brain. Jounouchi repeated the motion, and Seto moaned. The tongue made its way up the entire length of his semi-flaccid cock, and suddenly Kaiba found himself with a very distinct desire to willingly, wantonly, _happily_ spread his legs for the blond. However, his mind ground to a screetching halt when Katsuya took his dick into his mouth and tried to gobble him down whole.  
Seto gave a low cry, instinctly burying his slender fingers in the golden mane, fighting the urge to hump the wonderful hot orifice. Katsuya was bobbing his head up and down, trying to push as much of his lover's impressive dick down his throat.  
Saliva was dripping over the brunet's balls, which he massaged with his right hand, and collected in his palm. One slickened finger circled Kaiba's puckered hole, then entered the slightly loosened channel.  
Seto groaned aloud; planting his feet on the soft matress he began pushing himself up and down on Katsuya's digit, who soon added a second one. Picking up speed, Seto enjoyed the feel of the strong fingers within him, seeking his sweet spot, scissoring gently even as they-  
"Yes!" Jou involuntarily gagged when Kaiba thrust his hips upward, forcing his cock deeper down his throat. Releasing the now fully errect cock, he licked the strings of spittle from the head and grinned.  
"Look who's joined the party", he purred, even as he wiggled his fingers within Seto's passage. Who was clawing at the sheets, toes curled into the expensive fabric. Jounouchi added the third finger, swiftly and carefully stretching the velvety hole. Reaching for the lube laying on the spacious bed next to him, he poured a generous amount over his dick, never interrupting his ministrations on the brunet. By now, Seto was just about ready to murder him, when Jou decided he had had enough foreplay.  
Placing the well-defined legs over his shoulders, he kissed Seto on the cheek, then his neck and collarbones as he aligned the tip of his cock at the brunet's entrance.  
Seto glanced down in awe, as he took in Jounouchi's engorged member in its entirety. Though not as long as his own, what Jou's lacked in length, he more than made up for in girth.  
Seto's eyes snapped wide open; how come it hadn't hurt this much last time? Then he remembered that he hadn't had a customer in over three weeks, thus his rectum wasn't used to-  
"Aw! Kami-sama..Jou..please.." The blond had just barely fit the tip past the tight ring of muscles, and Seto already felt like he was riding a full-grown daikon.  
"uhh..huh...when d'you get so..tight!" Katsuya was having some serious issues. First, he was so horny he wanted nothing more than to just plunder Seto's body to his liking. And second..had Seto grown smaller since the first time they had sex? Of course, this sent a jolt of possessive pride through his being; it meant that no one else had touched his lover. On the other hand..how was he going to fit himself into that narrow passage without causing either one of them any damage?  
Reaching for the brunet's dick, he began pumping it in slow, fluid movements. Seto groaned, reveling in the feel of the double sensation; his body gradually relaxing.  
Katsuya could feel himself sliding deeper into the brunet, his other arm trembling from both the exertion and sheer willpower it took him not to just ram mindlessly into the offered heat.  
All of a sudden, he was pulled in and found himself buried to the hilt inside Seto. Seto, who seemed more than slightly content being filled by the blond. A lazy smirk, slender legs that wrapped and locked over his shoulderblades, lean arms that pulled him closer, then a low, sensual baritone caressed his ear and rasped,  
"Do me."  
There was a tiny part of Seto piping up what on earth he was thinking, but it was squashed by Katsuya's first earnest thrust. It was..painful and exhilarating. For the longest time he had not been able to enjoy sex, his mind and body reducing it to a mere necessity in order to survive, like eating or breathing. Now, however, he felt the long-buried, almost forgotten sensations bubble up from deep within him.  
Jou's every push, shove, thrust and moan, his hard, sinewy body, the way the blond molded almost perfectly against his own form...  
"More, more! I need more, Kat-katsuya, do it! Faster!"  
Supporting himself on both arms, the blond took up a quick, battering rythm and Seto screamed in bliss. Who cared if he was being split in half, he had reacclaimed his passion, his libido, his very desire. His crotch was being bludgeoned by Katsuya's pelvic bone and he valued, adored every single blow.  
And then his tunnel just clamped up, mid stroke, and Katsuya roared. His cock was caught in a vise grip, the throbbing length dutyfully pumping his seed into the brunet underneath him. The blond tried to pull out, just to be drawn back in and he followed suit. Ramming his member in with sheer brutal force, he buried his teeth in Seto's shoulder as his second orgasm forced him down.  
Whatever rational, sane, _human_ aspect remained within Seto disintegrated, when Katsuya's last thrust practically squashed his prostrate. Managing little more than a strained gurgle, the brunet felt spray upon spray of hot semen jet out his cock, glacing both their chests and stomachs with a slick, white coating.  
Somehow, Katsuya managed to detach first his teeth and then his member from the shivering brunet and roll off him without crushing this one's leg in the process. Then he just lay there, gasping, panting, wheezing like an old steam engine.  
Seto, on the other hand, was not entirely sure if what had happened, had really just transpired. Not only had he enjoyed sex for the first time in years, he had also just experienced a great orgasm. He moved slightly, shifting his legs into a more comfortable position and reveled in the feel of the semen inside...  
"Jou."  
"hhu-hah?"  
Seto drove one hand over his sweat-covered face.  
"Please. Please tell me that this is lube I'm feeling inside of me."  
There was a curt pause, then,  
"Oh shit!"  
Jou shot up from where he lay and stared at Seto, horrified expression on his still red-tinged face.  
"I-I- oh gods, Seto, I-I'm so sorry, I just..you were..you were just too hot and sexy and.."  
He faltered.  
"Gomen. I..lost control, there. Usually I can handle this just fine, but you.."  
He huffed.  
"Damn, that was something else. You are something else."  
He smiled and Kaiba snorted.  
"Is that what you tell every person you accidentally bust a nut in?"  
For a solid eight seconds, Katsuya's mouth just hung there open. Seto smirked and pushed it closed. The blond blinked and shook his head.  
"Huh, err, sorry, it's just..I would have never expected the great Kaiba Seto to talk dirty."  
For a moment, there was an unreadable expression on the brunet's face, who replied quietly,  
"It comes with the trade."  
Firey honey eyes grew warm and soft, even as Jou reached out and pulled Seto close to him. The brunet cocked a brow.  
"Please don't tell me you want to cuddle? That is just too weird." Katsuya, who had began kissing and softly lapping at the bitemarks on Seto's shoulder, chuckled.  
"Just enjoying the afterglow. Glad you liked it." He paused, when he got no reply. Turning his head, he studied Seto's profile.  
The brunet was staring at the ceiling, blue eyes half-lidded and warm, his entire skin flushed to a soft rose and a relaxed, content smile on his lips. Katsuya instinctly moved to kiss him..and withdrew, when he remembered.  
His throat tightened, and he gulped once, quietly.  
"Ja, how did you like our date, so far?"  
Seto turned his head, giving him a quizzical look.  
"This is a date?"  
Jou nodded in earnest.  
"Of course. Since our other dates were rather..subpar, I figured it was about time to spoil you a little."  
Seto rose and settled back on his elbows.  
"I thought you brought me here just to have sex." Katsuya tilted a brow.  
"That too, of course, but I really just wanted you to have a good time."  
Seto pursed his lips and, resting one calf on an elevated knee, stated,  
"Maybe next time you could ask first instead of indulging in such..splendor."  
Jounouchi deflated. Huffing, he muttered,  
"Gomen, I just figured..you would like to go out and enjoy yourself a little. You know, bask in the sun and light."  
He paused, even as his eyes grew ever so shifty, when he added,  
"Besides, you obviously enjoyed the sex. Judging by your screams I'd say, a nine out of ten?"  
Jou got the satisfaction of seeing the brunet actually blush. Leaning in, he was just about to kiss him on the lips and narrowly caught himself, before landing a small peck on the elegant nose. Seto didn't respond, but instead let his fingers trace lines in the cool, slippery liquid on his trim stomach.  
"This..this has been my first orgasm in..over three years", he said quietly. Jou just stared.  
"Are you trying to tell me, you didn't shoot your load since you..hit the street?" Seto shook his head.  
"Once..once the initial step was made, my mind, my body just -shut down my sex drive. At first, I still tried to masturbate, but after about an year, I couldn't even get morning wood."  
Saphhire eyes turned to deep hazel ones.  
"I haven't had an erection in the past twenty-eight months."  
Jou gazed at him, thoughtfully, then gave a wry smirk. Reaching out, he took Seto's limp member in his hand and stated,  
"Well, it's nice to see that it's still in perfect working order."  
Katsuya held his eyes as he kept stroking the soft member back into full awareness. Seto scowled as he watched the blond's actions.  
"What do you think you're doing?" he pressed between clenched teeth.  
Katsuya scooted closer, then growled,  
"This is a date, ne? Which means, wer're equals", he began trailing kisses up and down Seto's long, slender neck, making this one shiver in delight.  
"Besides, I really wanna try this gorgeous beast out. I want to go all the way with you, babe."  
And suddenly it clicked and Seto knew, why the blond had spent so much time in the bathroom. Returning the attention, he murmured,  
"Are you sure?" Jou, who by now had been rubbing and nuzzling his head against him affectionately, offered him his throat and Seto was quick to let his teeth graze the salty, golden skin. A tug at his dick made him look up-  
No, no surrender. There was not a trace of defeat, but a fierce challenge in these pools of liquid fire.

It was not that he didn't know what to do.  
Heck, it came instinctly to him, but he had not used, not tapped into that part of himself for so long, he was hesitant, not knowing wether he could control himself.  
Gently, he pushed into Jounouchi's orifice, who hissed in delight.  
"Mhh, that's right, fill me completely, babe."  
Encouraged by this, Seto slid in deeper beginning a steady, careful back and forth motion. His lover began moving faster, demanding more.  
Yet, Seto couldn't bring himself to do it; he was still grasping to retain some restraint since his clients didn't like an overly self-confident male prostitute.  
And yet, there was something..alluring to the way Jounouchi had prostrated himself to him, on all fours, clawing at the comforter and giving purring sounds and mewled demands.  
It stirred something forgotten in him, though he wasn't sure if he remembered what it was.  
Jounouchi on the other hand was getting rather frustrated. Here he had thought, when Seto had taken the initiative and practically demanded him to play it rough, that the CEO would break through his inhibitions and reclaim some of the pride and ruthlessness he had been so renowned for, but instead the brunet behaved as if he, Katsuya, were made of sugar.  
Time to change tactics.  
Bucking and heaving and trrying to make the brunet surge faster and deeper, he snapped at Seto,  
"Is that all you got? I thought you were happy to be on top, but if that's all you're wiling to give, I can just as well go search for a dildo!"  
Jou thought he saw something like wounded pride flash in the blue depths, when he glanced over his shoulder, but still Seto kept fucking like an arthritic hippo. Katsuya was at his last and final straw. Practically grinding his ass into Seto's crotch, he shouted,  
"Come on, show me! Let me know what it's like when dragon's mate!"  
He shot up and almost threw Seto off his back and the bed. Panting, he snarled,  
"Are you a man or a mouse? Since when do you things this half-assed? I want you to fuck me with all that you got, wakarimashita? You're supposed to be a dragon, so show me that you got some fucking claws and teeth!"  
A flicker of ice, a hint of steel and Katsuya knew, he had won. In a swift, fluid motion Seto had repositioned and buried himself to the hilt inside the blond. His voice was low and dangerous, when he leaned forward and purred into Jou's ear,  
"Very well, then. Let's see if you can keep up with me, ko-issou."¦  
A shiver, anticipation blended with triumph, ran down Katsuya's spine. They were getting clo-  
The first thrust almost propelled Jou into the wall. It was only due to his quick reflexes and the death grip Seto had on his hips that he didn't smash his face with the bed's headboard.  
Seto was in a frenzy. Over and over again he kept pushing, thrusting, ramming into Jounouchi with all that he had. He didn't care about any refined techniques or fancy positions, all he wanted was to pound Jou through the floor and into the very foundation of the ryokan.  
The blond was screaming, roaring, meeting him push by push, and Kaiba chuckled.  
A deep, sinister, long forgotten sound, a memory from days long gone made its way from the buried recesses of his being, and he recognized it.  
Power.  
It beckoned, called to him, and he answered. With every brutal shove, every relentless stab he claimed Jounouchi Katsuya finally, furthermore as his. A wild circling of his hips to widen the blond's entrance even more, just to pick up speed and force.  
Jou meanwhile was in a semi-delirious state. It had been quite a gamble and he had taken a great risk by pushing Seto to his limits, but there was no doubting the result:  
Kaiba Seto was back.  
Not whole, not complete, and it would take a while until he was back to his former strength, but he had returned.  
"Oh fuck, Seto!" exclaimed the blond. He was dangerously close to the edge, but he forced himself to hang on because he just wanted to know, _had_ to know what it felt like when Seto came in him. Gritting his teeth, he slightly angled his hips and bit down on the pillow.  
The brunet, upon seeing this, couldn't fight the victorious grin spreading on his face. He had won, the blond was succumbing to him and there came the familar tightening, the hardening...  
For the second time in his life, his soul shattered, as he felt what seemed like every single sperm he had not released since his downfall shoot from his member in several large, vicious spurts. He didn't hear his own cry or Jou's thunderous reply, he couldn't feel or see anything but a caleidoscope of colours, his sense of touch reduced to the sensation of his throbbing cock twitching, pulsating, squirting load after load of semen into his lover.  
Jou gradually came down from his high. Everything below his navel hurt. In the best of ways. He would soo have to repay the brunet for that later. Propping himself up on his elbows, he glanced at Seto, who now lay slumped over his back, head resting on his, Katsuya's shoulder. The blond grinned, then rasped,  
"Ne, koibito, think you can get off me? You're a little heavy, you know."  
Seto's eyes moved, unintelligent brabble followed. Jou cocked a brow. Seto was responsive, but certainly not coherent. Smiling, he carefully rolled the brunet off his back and moaned, as the softening member slipped out of him. He glanced backwards, when he felt the rivulet of warm seed slither down his thighs.  
Very carefully, he straightened his back and huffed. Looking down at Seto, he griped,  
"If this is how dragons fuck, I definetly want in on it. Next time it's my turn."  
Seto gave a vague smile, an even vaguer nod as his eyes drifted closed and he off to sleep.  
Another shiver, this time of proud satisfaction, made Katsuya tremble. There was no way either one of them would make it to the bathroom for cleaning up. Just as well, thought Jou, as he reached for the comforter and, after much wincing and coaxing and pushing had managed to tuck the both of them in.  
The okami] would just have to add it to the bill. He draped an arm around the dozing Seto and this time, he couldn't help it. Ever so softly, he let his lips brush the brunet's corner of the mouth, then placed another kiss on this one's forehead and fell asleep.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Heh, gomen about the Sailor Moon stab; it was really just the first most ridiculous thing that came to mind. Don't worry, though, I like Sailor Moon. So should you. 

Taking a few days off this fic; I should be back mid next week. Take care!^^

+Kougen: traditionally meant as comical intermezzi during the rather dark-themed Nou plays, it has become its own theater form

°Furisode: elegant, rather expensive kimono worn mostly by unwed women  
*Sayuri: the Tiger Lily's meaning in Japan is wrath, revenge, vengefulness  
#Shouji: sliding doors in traditional Japanese houses  
^kaiseki: exquisite, multicourse meal served in high-end restaurants and hotels. There is also the _cha-kaiseki_ complementing a tea ceremony  
~owarai: Japanese(TV) comedy; literally meaning smile/laugh. Jou's and Kaiba's relationship is classic owarai material  
]okami: head of the ryokan


	12. 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Afterglow and a hint of foreshadowing

Xll

The phone rang discreetly, waking Jounouchi from his fitful slumber. Drowsily reaching for the hearer, he gazed down at his dormant love. The brunet was still out cold, on his back, hair spread like a silken rug over the pillow. Smiling, Jou brought the speaker to his mouth and croaked,  
"Moshi moshi?"  
He listened to the okami, then conceded,  
"Hai, we're staying another night. Just add it to the bill."  
He hung up and looked once more at his sleeping beauty. If someone would have told him ten years ago he would someday have enough money to pay even for a single night at the Tanchou Inn without even blinking, he would have laughed that person out of the room straight into the loony bin.  
But the navy paid well, and since most of his belongings still sat in a storage room due to the fact that he had given up his appartment, his savings had remained practically untouched. Plus, being ninety percent of his time at sea with little chance to actually spend his income had just added to his hefty bank account.  
Still, five-hundred thousand Yen, just for a single day at a ryokan...Seto mumbled in his sleep, and Katsuya's heart melted.  
So worth it.

Yuugi felt Ryou's eyes on him.  
Ever since their first meeting, the tranquil Brit had taken on spending more and more time with him, and it was beginning to get on Yuugi's nerves.  
"Don't you have any classes to attend?" he asked, while he put up a poster for the newest DuelMonsters expansion deck(KaibaCorp still held exclusive rights over the entire franchise).  
Ryou shook his head.  
"No. I'm done with colllege, remember?"  
Yuugi grit his teeth.  
"Then why are you here?"  
Ryou sipped his tea.  
"I like keeping you company." A flash of red appeared in his chocolate brown eyes.  
"What are you doing, Yuugi?"  
The star duelist huffed.  
"Working, if you don't mind."  
"I can see that. And you know that's not what I mean."  
Yuugi shot him a glare. Ryou merely scowled.  
"Seriously, Yuugi. What are you doing?"  
At this point Yuugi just about had enough. Climbing down the stepping stool, he snapped,  
"In case you failed to notice, I am running a game shop. There-"  
"That's precisely the point," Ryou shot back, "you're running a game shop and nothing else! Weren't you once busy designing a new game? Tutoring kids how to play DuelMonsters? I get that you can't go on tournaments, since they don't exist anymore, and that they banned you from any official duels, but instead of being creative and outgoing you just -hide away in here like a-a-turtle!"  
He paused in his rant and eyed Yuugi earnestly.  
"What happened, Yuugi?" he asked quietly.  
Large, amethyst eyes darkened and grew sad and tired, as they looked to the ground.  
"Life," whispered Yuugi, "life happened."

Jou had just finished freshening up, when the knock came at the door.  
"One moment, please", he called back, as he hurried to dress Seto into his yukata while simultaneously trying to arrange the bed into a somewhat presentable state, then opened the window.  
Kaiba meanwhile finger-combed his hair into something resembling a fashion hiding his face, not in the mood for Jou's energetic bustling.  
Who threw the door open with a bright smile and ushered the room service in. Seto cocked a brow at the cart; obviously Jou had ordered everything on the menu _and_ the kitchen sink.  
Swiftly, the Nakai-san filled a tray with various dishes of his liking, then set the tray on his blanketed lap. The brunet gawked owlishly at the meal.  
"Ne, aibou, breakfast in bed! Don't say I'm not taking good care of you!" cheered his blond lover, who then complimented the maid out of the room. Setting up a second tray for himself, he walked over to his side of the bed and got under the covers. He blinked, when he saw Seto staring at his breakfast as if it were some strange, alien creature.  
"Here, allow me" he said, as he poured Kaiba a cup of hot, dark-brown steaming liquid into a cup.  
Seto's head snapped up a the scent.  
Gingerly, with but the slightest tremble of his hand, he reached for the china and brought it up to his nose, inhaling deeply, before steeping a cautious finger into the drink and licking it clean.  
Coffee. Real, fresh-ground, hand-poured-over coffee.  
Of course he had drank coffee whilst on the street, but these were mostly instant sludge pulled from vending machines, every now and then something more authentic from a kissaten had been purchased.  
But this..a rich, Ethopian base blended with Colombian gold and Hondurian blossom for extra flavour..it was a truly exquisite drink.  
The nectar of gods.  
His first sip actually stung his lips and burnt his tongue, but the rush of caffeine, the subtle, underlaying aromas of vanilla, chocolate, flowers and spices were more than worth it.  
For a moment, he saw his office flash before his eyes, felt Isono's presence to his side and the luxurious, soft leather of his chair in his back, and a single tear escaped his eye.  
"Ne, aibou, daijoubu ka?" came Katsuya's hushed request.  
Seto swallowed, then nodded.  
"Hai. I..I missed this." Jou furrowed his brow.  
"You missed coffee?" he asked. Seto gave an amused smirk and shook his head.  
"No, I meant this. All of this", he explained, including the entire surroundings in his gesture.  
"This kind of living. This kind of life. My..kind of life."  
He swallowed again, dryly, staring into his half-full cup.  
"I miss my life."  
When he looked up at Katsuya, his blue eyes were soft, softer than Jou had ever seen them before.  
"I can see what you were doing there", he said quietly.  
"Hmm?"  
Seto smiled.  
"Thank you. Thank you for reminding me of who I am."  
He sat down his cup, leaned forwards and caught Jounouchi's lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. The blond's eyes widened; all this time, and all he had to do was get the brunet some insanely expensive, perfectly brewed coffee to get kissed?  
Jou decided to focus on Seto's taste, the way his tongue tangled with his own, how he eagerly pundered his mouth, buried his long finger's in the blond's mane...  
Eventually, oxygen was needed, plus their trays were in imminent danger of being toppled over.  
Seto smiled at him and Katsuya grinned.  
Definetly so worth it.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Seto the coffee addict. Yeah, I know, so cliché, but I thought to give him something a little more in character. Also, as I found out, to perfectly brew poured-over coffee takes actual real science.


	13. 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An intermezzo, another keypiece..

Xlll

Mokuba was restless.  
He didn't exactly know why, but something had happened.  
Something had disrupted the order of things.  
And like any Kaiba, not knowing what was going on behind the scenes, irked him to no end.  
Gazing out his office window, he frowned.  
Someone, something had changed.  
For the better or the worse was left to speculation.

Seto, sporting his yukata and standing on the suite's private balkony, stared over at the KaibaCorp Tower. Despite it being in rather close range of the highrise, the ryokan at no time of the day was ever shadowed by the steel and glass monolith.  
Even Gozaburo's power had been forced to yield to the ancient ryokan's status in Domino.  
Blue eyes narrowed; formulating and discarding plans, schemes, options...  
"Ne aibou, what's on your mind?"  
Jou stepped onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around Seto from behind, resting his chin on this one's shoulder.  
The brunet acknowledged him with a curt glance, the resumed his staring at his former pride. His voice came out a slither of steel.  
"Spring cleaning."  
Katsuya gave a mute chuckle, pressing his cheek against Seto's.  
Hark the growl.

Ryou pressed his lips against Yuugi's scar.  
He knew it was wrong, that the tri-coloured haired man wasn't ready for this, but he sensed that Yuugi needed it.  
As did he.  
The former champion had hesitantly opened up to him, telling how he had been mistreated; first by the government officials, then his inmates.  
The cut to his face had been minor; a slash of a plastic knife grazing his cheek, only just drawing blood.  
The gash on the crown of his head was an entirely different story.  
A murder attempt.  
Three prisoners had ganged up on him, beaten him to a pulp, then thrown him down a flight of stairs.   
He had spent four days in a coma, then another three months in rehabilitation.  
Gradually he had fought his way back to health, to self-reliance, but occasionally his body would still block, when attempting certain movements, not to mention the PTSD.  
He still couldn't recall the memories of his last dig.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
*hides behind steel doors* Sory, sorry, sorry; yes, I like Yuugi too, I'm just using him here to show that war often costs the most innocent the most dearly. As to how Ryou fits into this picture..I still haven't made up my mind...


	14. 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More afterglow, more Jou and Seto..and another chapter that just ran off with the plot. Enjoy.

XlV

Kaiba Seto yawned and stretched, as the morning sun tickled his face.  
Pardon, he _attempted_ to stretch, but stopped mid-move.  
Katsuya was still buried inside him, the semi-interested morning erection rapidly swelling to full attention.  
Seto smirked, shifted his hips...a choked sound escaped his throat.  
Great. They were literally glued together.  
Jou moved, voice thick with sleep and desire, when he mumbled,  
"Ohayou, koibito. Already ready for the first round?" He pressed his body deeper into Seto's, who gasped and hissed,  
"Don't..move."  
Alarmed at the strained voice, Jou opened his eyes. Despite not seeing his lover's face, he instantly detected this one's pain.  
"Aibou, wha-"  
"Your cum..turned into adhesive. Just..don't move, wakarimashita?"  
Jou frowned. He had to slicken Seto's passage somehow, but the lube lay somewhere forgotten on the floor. Desperate, and with no other options left, Katsuya decided for the only route.  
Delicately, deliberately easing out of his lover as far as possible, he began pumping his erection, even as Seto grunted and grimaced.  
Eventually, Katsuya ejaculated; thick, creamy strings coating the brunet's inside. Catching his breath, he then attempted to pull his cock from Seto's reslickened opening.  
Kaiba gave a loud, pained shout, even as Jounouchi's member slipped out of him. The blond gazed down.  
"Oh my gods, Seto, you're bleeding! And not just a little, I mean, really bad! We need to get you to a hospital!"  
He scurried, searching for towels, tissues, first aid kit and absorbing cotton pads, expertly washing and dressing Kaiba's wounds before wrapping him into his furisode and hastily aplying just enough make-up to make im unrecognizable.  
"Do you have a preffered clinic?" he asked the brunet, while he dialed for a cab. Kaiba gave him the adress and Jounouchi gave the driver the details while rapidly stuffing their belongings into their bags and preparing Seto for transport.  
Carrying his lover into the waiting area and gently sitting him down on a chair, he flew through the check-out process, adding an extra hundred-fifty grand for the comforter and other -inconviniences.  
As they got into the cab, it was clear that the brunet was in no condition to sit up straight, so Katsyua helped im lay down on the backseat.  
All the way to the clinic Jou fussed and worried over the brunet, making this one more irate by the minute.  
Once at their destination, he threw a bundle of Yen at the cab driver with the notion to keep silent, then carried Seto into the emergency room.  
After having explained what had happened, he escorted Seto to the scrub room and watched as the doors closed behind the gurney.  
All the while Kaiba had never gotten out of his furisode.

The damage had not been too grievous and the operation a success.  
Less than two hours later, as slightly drowsy Kaiba was pushed out of the operating room into the observation area, were Jounouchi immediately took post at his side.  
Eventually, the brunet returned to full awareness and his azure eyes narrowed at the blond.  
Jou gulped and gave an uncertain smile.  
He had been on the receiving end of that cold glare too often not to recognize it:  
the former CEO was really, truly _pissed_ at him.  
Kaiba, lying on the gurney and cursing like a sailor, was seething with anger. Cautiously, Jou leaned closer to his raging lover and quipped,  
"Ne koibito, you have been hanging around me a little too much, ne?"  
Seto's answer consisted of a string of slurs that could have peeled the white off the walls.  
And made Jounouchi erupt in gleeful laughter.

"You're a rapist." growled Kaiba. Jou didn't even flinch at the statement, but corrected,  
"No, I'm merely an overly hung, overly excitable and overly potent lover.That's all there is to it", as he half-carried the brunet through the maze of his hideout.  
He grinned and added,  
"I also just so happen to have an overly gorgeous, overly sexy and overly promiscuous boyfriend, that is."  
Kaiba shot him a wary glance.  
"Honto ni, boyfriend? Because I can't recall any of my customers being anywhere near as..forceful as you."  
Jou pursed his lips.  
"Ja, not my problem if you only picked tiny dicked, impotent johns. On the other hand..."  
His expression grew sly and Seto more than a little alarmed.  
"Now that I've sufficiently embossed my size into your ass, I've made certain no one else will ever be able to satisfy you."  
For the longest time, Kaiba merely gaped at the blond, before snapping his mouth closed and asking in an accusary tone,  
"Have you been..grooming me?"  
Jounouchi blinked, then frowned. Helping his lover to settle into his bed, he growled,  
"You are neither a child nor would I ever do anything like that. Ever. I might have taken advantage of your situation, yes, but you are more than capable to discern such patterns, if directed at you or anybody else."  
Sapphire searched darkened amber, then Seto nodded.  
"You're correct. You're not capable of doing something like that, and I would have noticed. I..apologize."  
Katsuya's jaw fell straight through the floor. Not only because the brunet had apologized, that in and by itself was sensational enough, but at the tone.  
Kaiba had sounded exactly the way he had used to, whenever he had congratulated Yuugi after defeating a particularly formidable opponent.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
*cackles madly° Heheheheeee, sorry, but the picture of Seto spitting and hurling insults and swearwords just got stuck in my mind. As for his identity..who would believe Kaiba Seto grew his hair halfways down his back and dropped A to F-bombs..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, the situational humour might be funny, but anal tears, respectively fissures, are not to be toyed with. While minor ones tend to heal within a couple of weeks applying self-treatment(lots of fibre, enough water and excercise, warm baths etc.), the kind of bleeding here described is a case for surgery.  
> Also, always wipe off semen while it's still liquid. Remember, the anus is not (as)self-lubricant as the vagina, thus ejaculate tends to coagulate after a while.  
> For the matter of grooming, go here:  
> https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/grooming  
> https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Grooming


	15. 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short and quiet and perhaps a promise

XV

"Say cheese!"  
Five wide grins cumilated on the screen, there was a flash and a whirr and the polaroid was ejected. Mokuba walked over and snatched the rapidly developping photograph.  
"Man, that was tacky", he stated, as he waved the small square in order to make it dry faster.  
"We could have just taken a selfie with our cells and printed it out. Why so retrotech?"  
Otogi threw an arm around his shoulder and stated,  
" _Because_ it's retrotech, dear Mokuba. That's the whole point about it."  
The other raven-head gave him a level gaze.  
"You do realize, that KaibaCorp is still developping next generation software, ne? If people knew we're using this kitschy throwback from the last century, our stocks would-"  
"Mokuba, catch!" yelled Jounouchi, even as the stress ball aimed at Mokuba's face was airborn. The CEO managed to pluck it out of the air before it hit home, surprised at the sudden attack. Another flash, another whirr and Jou stood there waiting for the next photograph.  
"Nice cach, kid. Good reflexes."  
Mokuba rolled his eyes. When he had invited the remnants of Yuugi-tachi to his place, he had hoped for a slightly more mature party.  
Instead, there had been an almost instant pillow war, a descent into madness when Otogi had accused Jounouchi of cheating at Monopoly, the ensuing friendly brawl(even in high school Ryuji had been no match for Jou and it showed even more now), Ryou and Yuugi having to play negotiators and even a food fight.  
Sure, it had been..fun, and Mokuba had enjoyed it very much. Until the obligatory karaoke, that was. For good luck they had no imminent neighbours; he was pretty sure they would have called the police and demanded their immediate eviction.  
It was just that..these childish fun and games showed how painful the loss of Honda, Anzu and Kaiba was. Between Anzu's motherly-sisterly behaviour, Honda's antics and Kaiba's laid-back, disgruntled tolerance for the happenings around him anchoring the event, the gaps were just too big to cover up.  
"Ne, Mokuba, thanks for the party, and sorry for the mess we made. We surely had a blast, ne?" cheered the blond petty officer, as he gave the host a shoulder hug. Then his eyes softened and he added in a quieter voice,  
"I really needed this. I guess we all did. Never mind how much we miss the others, as long as we keep these meetings up, some part of them will always remain with us. Thanks for reminding me of that."  
Mokuba gave a wry smile as he returned the hug.  
"Do itashimashite. And you're right. They're still with us."  
Slate-blue eyes turned mischevious.  
"But don't think you can sweet-talk your way out of cleaning up. You're gonna help straighten out this mess with the rest of us."  
Jou winced at his bluff being called.

Seto traced the lines of his brother's face on the polaroid.  
Jou sat to the side, busying himself with stacking the tiny makeshift refrigerator with the leftovers from the feast, granting the brunet some privacy.  
"He's all grown up", muttered Kaiba, his eyes glistening treacherously. Jou rose from his crouching position and walked over. Lowering himself to Kaiba's level, he replied,  
"And he turned out great. You can be proud of yourself."  
Seto looked at him, a sad, rueful expression on his face.  
"I-we missed out on so much with each other. Between remodeling KaibaCorp, my quest for the title and building up an empire, I often pushed pasttimes wih Mokuba aside. It's not that he didn't understand, but I guess, unlike me, he realized that our childhood wouldn't last forever and that we should make due with what little time we still got before adulthood claimed us."  
Jou could have said that the entire gang had told him so repeatedly, but decided against it. Instead, he caressed Kaiba's cheek and hushed,  
"It's ok. We still got the future to build towards."  
A derisive snort escaped Kaiba, and Jounouchi's heart fluttered. Was that another sign of the old Kaiba?  
But the brunet merely dropped his gaze and muttered,  
"Great. A future spent in hiding and repairing defect home appliances. Truly a glorious outlook."  
Jounouchi narrowed his eyes at the defeated tone. He was now more determinded than ever to restore the old Kaiba Seto to his former self, never mind the cost.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Admittedly, Kaiba is a little back and forth at the moment, but it's not as if returning to one's former self would be an overnight thing, ne?


	16. 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quiet and somewhat bittersweet, and perhaps another turning point

XVl

As expected, the day was rainy.  
Per custom, the portier moved to open the door of the cab that had pulled up on the curb, holding out the umbrella for the descending passenger. Already the first glance at the polished black shoes and stark white, expertly pressed linen slacks told him he was dealing with a naval officer.  
Tall, broad-shouldered yet somewhat lanky, the petty officer stood and returned his greeting.   
He seemed...familar, though the portier couldn't place him. Distinctly Japanese, yet there were definetly some gaijin traits to his features. Particularly his dark blond brows and blond hair peeking from underneath his hat were a dead give-away.   
The soft rustle of clothes and an even softer voice drew both men's attention to the inside of the waiting taxi.  
A pretty pink umbrella was handed to the petty officer, who opened it and galantly offered a hand to the stunning beauty which descended the car.   
The portier's eyes widened.  
An +onnagata, he deduced by the large hands and feet, but what a deceitful one.  
Unlike normal actors, this one had the long, chestnut tresses shadow his face in twin fringes of shimmering silk, wore hardly any make-up and hid his face behind a fan.  
Brown eyes, the same shade as his hair, brimmed with intelligence.  
Not letting his feelings show, but scowling on the inside, he led the couple to the main entrance. Let it not be said, just because KaibaCorp had lost much of its splendour, it had not retained its standards.

Maki Nobuka had been KaibaCorp's head secretary for too long to stare, leave alone show any real surprise at the sight of her two visitors. Unlike that Suzu girl, who had almost come unraveled when Mokuba-sama had given the blond VIP status.  
She remembered Jounouchi Katsuya of course, from way back when he had tried to pester his way into the Kaiba Tower.   
Only, this was not the boisterous, brazen teen from then, but a grown man emitting a distinct aura of dignity and serene pride, with a rather fetching personality to match.  
Her mother would have called him son-in-law material.  
He smiled anew and, taking off his hat, explained,  
"Sumimasen gozaimasu, but we just came from a play we staged at the navy headquarters and my friend had no chance to demask. Do you think it would be possible to use one of the bathrooms or some other secluded area, where he could change in private?"

Ryuji Otogi didn't bother to hide his stare.  
Damn, if the blond didn't look smart in that navy uniform.  
If not to say dashing.  
He sighed inwardly, not for the first time regretting having forced the blond into the dog costume way back when.  
He had practically shot any chance he might have had with Jounouchi with that act.  
Mokuba on the other hand was happily playing host, offfering Jou the best tea and okashi KaibaCorp had to offer. It was the most content Otogi had seen his partner since his ani's disappearance. Currently, the raven-haired CEO elaborated to Jou in detail, as to why his partnership with Yuugi had been forced apart by the governement on terms of suspicion of "fraternizing with a potentially dangerous individual".  
"Since it was a breach of contract on our side, we had to refund Yuugi a huge sum of damage. Hence the reopening of the game shop."  
Jou nipped silently at his cup, pondering in silence. Even without KaibaCop backing him up, it was obvious that the King of Games still had enough money to fund the development of his new game. So, why was he not designing anything? What was missing from the picture?  
Mokuba adressed him, and he returned his attention to his host.  
"Gomen, I didn't catch that. Mou itte?"  
Mokua rolled his eyes and Ryuji chuckled, when the younger Kaiba repeated,  
"So, where is your friend exactly?"  
Jou shrugged.  
"I don't know, I told him that we would be waiting for him with tea. Usually, he doesn't take this long."  
Mokuba frowned.  
"You did tell him we're in the conference room, ne?"  
Jounouchi paused mid-reach for another cookie, even as his friends looked at him.  
Otogi cocked a bow.  
"Jou?"  
The blond sweatdropped.  
"Eh, actually..I think I forgot to mention that detail, so he's probably waiting in..your office..."  
Both entrepreneurs facepalmed, even as Jou reddened.  
"Go-gomen, I'll go get-"  
"Ie, no, you stay here, I'll get him myself. Just to make sure he actually gets here, this time", groused Mokuba, as he strode to the door.  
Apparently, some things never change.

Someone was occupying his seat. Facing the window bay, the person obviously had made themselves at home in his private office, and the young CEO took exception to it.  
"What do you think you're doing, sitting in my chair?" snarled Mokuba. There was a snort.  
"It is nice to see that you still keep our company up and running, Mokuba. I've taught you well."  
Mokuba was frozen to the spot at those words, as the seat swiveled around and a very familiar figure smiled up at him.  
There were a few faint worry lines around his mouth, his chestnut hair was pulled back in a ponytail, his features more gaunt than he remembered, and his trademarked sweater hung a tad bit too loosely on his body, but there was no denying the particular way of steepling the long, elegant fingers, the infamous smirk, the hard glint of azure eyes.  
"Se..to..?" Mokuba thought his heart was going to stop. Shaking, trembling, he stepped forward, one unsteady hand reaching out to touch, to caress the pale cheek before him.  
"Is..is that..really..you? I-I'm not dreaming, right? You're..you're really..here?"  
The elder Kaiba held the palm firm to his face; as he rose, his expression softened and he answered,  
"I'm here, Mokuba. I am back."  
Gently, he slid his arms around the young man before him, and this time, Mokuba clung on tight enough to bruise. Seto returned the embrace, and the two brothers shook, as for the first time since they had stepped foot into the orphanage on that very first night, all those years, all these lifetimes ago, Seto cried unabashedly.  
As the afternoon sun made to appear and set, the kyoudai still stood there clinging to one another, as silence blanketed them with peace.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
I should have issued a tissue warning...hopefully it wasn't too cliché, but I just couldn't figure out how else to reunite the brothers.

+onnagata: male actor impersonating female charachters, traditionally found in Kabuki plays


	17. 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things shift, as they begin to evolve

XVll

Ryuji Otogi didn't quite understand how the world worked.  
Up until he other day, when Jounouchi had come to visit, Mokuba had been quiet and relaxed. He had spoken to that strange visitor, Otogi had yet to meet, and since then, all hell had broken loose.  
The young CEO breezed through designs, redesigns, new ideas and upgrades like a typhoon. But that was nothing compared to what he did on the business front.  
He lured and coaxed friendly and allied companies into firmly joining the KaibaCorporation, tied up loopholes and bulldozed through several relaxings of regulations concerning foreign trades...  
And Otogi stood there, dazed, when he realized what Mokuba was doing.  
Ever since its downfall, Kaiba Corporation had remained a fort, a refuge for what was left of an industrial empire. What Mokuba now did was fortifying its defenses, locking down any possible hidden backdoors and overseeing that his army of staff, lawyers, peers and partners remained loyal to them and _only_ them.  
In short, Mokuba was turning KaibaCorp into a bastion. A citadel.  
Otogi recognized the foreshadowing of a perfect storm.

Ryou held Yuugi in his arms.  
The shorter man was snuggled up against his chest, dozing peacefully.  
On the table next door lay strewn about what remained of the King of Game's original ideas and drafts of his new game; shreds and pieces of paper scattering the study floor.  
He regretted having coaxed his friend into reopening the binder that had held his concepts.  
At first everything had gone well, until they approached the calculation system.  
That's when Yuugi's selective amnesia had reared its ugly head.  
Try as he might, he couldn't remember any of the parameters he had used, even the notes he had made offered no help.  
Frustrated, disillusioned and utterly disgusted by himself and his handicap, Yuugi had gone on a rampage, tearing all his plans apart and almost destroying the desk, seats et all.  
It was only when he had met with Ryou's horrified look, had he calmed down.  
The Brit, completely baffled that his usually timid, pacifistic friend could erupt in such a way, had carefully talked the distraught duelist into ceasing his destructiveness.  
Yuugi had collapsed on the spot; crying, bawling, begging for forgiveness even as Ryou had helped him up and over into his bed, where he had cuddled up next to his friend, pulling Yuugi into a comforting embrace.  
That had been over three hours ago.

Seto was brooding.  
Correction, _Kaiba_ was brooding.  
And while it exhilarated Jounouchi that his white dragon was slowly reacclaiming his former fierceness, it also saddened him.  
As long as he was down and scurrying for survival, he had been modest, grateful, still proud, but reluctant.  
Now he was steeling himself for battle, for a counterstrike at the people who had wronged him, and Jounouchi knew, it was only a matter of time before the brunet would consider him little more than a trusted aquaintance.  
Masking his sigh behind a scoff, he asked,  
"So, what are your plans know?"  
The former CEO turned to him, a closed expression on his features. Jou didn't let it show, but inwardly he faltered slightly.  
Chestnut brows creased, then Kaiba replied,  
"I need every single business, technological magazine and newspaper of the past two years at my disposal. Tokyo Times, London Times, Boston Globe, MIT Technology Review, E&T, every little scrap you can find."  
Jou cocked a brow.  
"Are you giving me _orders_ now?" he asked, slightly irritated.  
Kaiba smirked.  
"You wanted me back. You knew this was going to happen. So stop complaining."  
Soft steps, the prowl of a tiger, then Jounouchi kneeled behind Kaiba and growled,  
"You do realize that I'm a _naval_ officer, right? And that as such, pissing me off is not the smartest thing to do, ne?"  
Again, the brunet snorted.  
"It's not as if you had any legit permission to execute any kind of retaliation."  
He felt the cold, calculating smirk that sent a chill, an icy shiver down his spine.  
"That's where you're wrong, Seto-chan. We're still in a state of retribution. And as such, martial law is still very prevalent."  
Rising to his full height, he towered over the seated Kaiba, snarling,  
"Just a friendly reminder."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Yes, the tone is off, but remember Kaiba is still rather..unbalanced(ok, maybe he isn't *that*OOC), since he is still in recovery. As for Yuugi and Ryou, I think I might have found a route where I want to take these two. Maybe. I dunno.


	18. 18

XVlll

It was not the first such letter to arrive.  
No returning adress, no stamp due to the fact it had been dropped directly into their letter box, just the words  
_'Confidential: Kaiba Mokuba'_ scrawled across the enveloppe.  
More than once he had wanted to break the seal and glimpse at the contents, but had always restrained himself.  
This one however, was different. Almost a parcel, due to its thickness, it had passed every security test with flying colours, deeming it safe to open.  
Still, it irked him. Why was Mokuba hiding things from him? Prodding the raven-haired youngster hadn't proven fruitful; instead the CEO had bombarded his vice president with legal and governmental jibberish until his head span.  
He had also began passing Otogi from pillar to postern, often having the Dice Master meet with high government officials and oligarchs of all trades and colours.  
And while Otogi reveled in the fact that Mokuba entrusted him, and _solely_ him with such illustre and delicate clientle, he coudn't help but wonder...

Jounouchi hammered in the nails of the planes designated to isolate the window frame and adjunctant wall. Coated inwardly with several layers of water-repellant wood stain, the encasement would trap and redirect any kind of water seeping through the tiny fissures in the steel girters and redirect it into their irrigation plant.  
Kaiba, who was sitting on the floor amidst newspapers, magazines, printouts and notes, every so often applying the finishing touches to the apparatuses Jounouchi had begun to repair, scowled.  
"Could you please stop that infernal hammering?" he growled, comparing a tabloid copy to a self-made chart. Jou paused and turned his head.  
"You do realize, I am trying to fortify your hideout for the storm season, right? So, sorry for the noise."  
With that, he resumed his work, paying no attention to the former CEO's growing ire. Finally, the brunet snapped and roared,  
"Could you please, for the love of kami and your own health, hold the goddamn hammering!"  
Jounouchi dropped down from the ladder he stood on to land in front of Seto and narrowed his eyes at him.  
"First and foremost, don't use that tone with me. Ever. Second, I am doing this for you, so you can go about your great reconquering KaibaCorp plans. Third, remember that in less than six weeks I'll be gone, and then you'll have to do everything yourself. Maintenance work, scrambling for food and resources, manning the shop..."  
He drew a deep breath, the hand holding the hammer tightening its grip.  
"To be honest, I liked you better when your ego was scaled down. And just because I want you back in your rightful place, doesn't mean I have to put up with your ungrateful shit on a daily base."  
Kaiba merely turned on his icy glare. Jou returned it with a vengeance. Gods, how he lusted for the genius, but even after his wounds had healed, Kaiba had refused him any form of intimate contact.  
More often than not the petty officer had tried to instigate even the smallest erotic thrist, but it was as if the brunet had simply shut down his libido anew to focus instead on reacclaiming his company.  
So indulged he was in his scheming, he couldn't see Jounouchi's suffering and longing, the increasing sadness in the amber eyes.  
The blond had achieved what he had set out to do, restore Kaiba Seto to his former self. He had known the risks, the outcome, speculated the possible rejection and alienation and even contempt. However, even he could not have forseen his outright hostility and degradation. There was no point asking what had happened between them, Jounouchi knew it all to well: in order to recapture his status, his wealth, Kaiba applied his former tactics, falling back into his old behavioural habits he had built his success upon and which had served him well in his adolescence.  
And if Jounouchi were to fall by the wayside, the brunet would most likely figure it but a small price to pay. Because for all his ingenuity, his knowledge and cunning, Kaiba Seto had obviously learned nothing from his time on the streets.  
Jounouchi just held the stare, deciding to be the better man. Putting down the hammer, he muttered,  
"Fine. Be that way. I'm due to report to ship anyway."  
With that, he sidestepped Kaiba's chaos and snatched his jacket from the coatrack he had made for his lover.  
Perhaps it was for the best.

Chief petty officer Himura Rikuto had to supress a grin. So the blond konketsuji was heartbroken. Given, he dutifully did as told as fast as he was told, but there was no mistaking the lackluster expression in his eyes.  
Rubbing his square chin, Himura pondered how to use this to his advantage. 

Yuugi was staring at him.  
Ryou shivered, goosebumps trailing up his arms. Yuugi closed the distance between them and the Brit swallowed the lump in his throat.  
"Are..are you sure you want this?" he asked numbly, even as the shorter duelist opened the buttons on his shirt. Amethys eyes gazed longingly into chocolate brown ones.  
"Onegai. I-I've been so lonely, Ryou. Ater Atemu left, I found strength in our friendship, everybody's prescence, but once we broke apart, and I was moved to jail.."  
Soft lips brushed even softer ones. Yuugi closed his eyes, Ryou's breath hitched.  
"Please, don't let me be lonely tonight", hushed Yuugi, then sealed Ryou's lips with his own.  
And Ryou returned the kiss.

Kaiba sat on his favourite little bean bag, hair hanging around his shoulders in a disarray, brush in one hand. Gazing out the window, he wondered how everything could have gone so wrong in such a short time. The last time he had sat here, watching the rain and storm pelt against the sturdy glass, he had had a friend, a comrade, a confidant and would-be lover brush his mane.  
And now?  
He was as alone as he had been the three years prior. Given, he was better off, both financially and physically, but that didn't ease the guilt, the emptiness he felt. Jounouchi had given him so much; companionship, trust, self-confidence, passion, a different source of income with the possibility of using his talents to some extent, the chance to reunite with Mokuba...and last, but not least, love.  
It was painfully obvious that the blond was smitten with him. Even a blind would have recognized the shining beam of his smile and sweet coos interlacing his warm tenor, when he talked to him. But Seto also knew that the blond might become a stumbling block in his quest to reobtain his power and possessions.  
Or would he?  
Kaiba sat there, watching the driplets race each other down the glass panel.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
*sigh* I just can't enough of Kaiba sitting there, gazing out into the rain, contemplaiting... Also, I decided to try my hand at Heartshipping. I've never done this before, so bear with me.  
Oh, and let me know if you found the _extremely_ random easter egg, too, arigatou^^


	19. 19

XlX

Mokuba was confused.  
For a while, Seto's letters and concept layouts had come pouring in, but for the past several days, there had been a lull in the delivery.  
Also, his ani was growing more and more terse, reducing his written dialogue to mere commonplace phrases; barely enough to ensure Mokuba that he was doing well besides the odds.  
Also, he had stopped ranting and writing about Jounouchi, which made the raven-haired CEO very worried. Jou was the link, the glue that held the whole tapestry together. Without him, their little group would had never rekindled their old affinity. Given, he was but a small cog in the entire gear, but somehow, unwittingly, or probably due to his famous luck, he had managed to not only stumble across Seto, but help him regain some form of stability.  
And now this.  
Mokuba frowned; he needed to find Jounouchi Katsuya if he wanted to find Seto. Hitting his intercom, he demanded,  
"Maki-san? Call Nakazawa to my office, ten minutes ago."

"So, if the player puts his duty card down, he can pick two ones from the creature stack?" queried Ryou. Yuugi nodded.  
Over the past several days, they had pieced his game back together and added several changes. The board was enlarged by about a third, allowing both players to move their face cards as well as their discarded treasures on the cardbox surface more freely. Still, Ryou was puzzled.  
"I still don't get the penalty. I mean, if you chose to drop your treasures in order to pick up a creature, why then the restriction of putting it in defense mode, unless you sacrifice a duty card, too?" Yuugi swayed his head.  
"Hmm, it does seem like an unnecesary obstacle. And if.."  
The two young men continued obsessing over the complexity of the former champion's new game, unaware of the machinations churning behind the scenes.

"Are you Jounouchi Katsuya?"  
The petty officer frowned.  
"Depends. Who wants to know?"   
The man who had asked, a smooth, slender man in his fifties with a face that constantly moved and shifted as if he were unter water, gave an inviting smile.  
"Is there somewhere where we can talk in private?" he inquired.  
Jounouchi glanced around; seeing his superiour, he informed him that he would step out for a while to talk to this 'friend of a friend' and do some errands.  
Himura nodded, and even as he turned around, Jounouchi caught the malicious gleam flashing up in this one's eyes.  
A shudder ran down his back, as if someone had walked over his grave.

"Why are you here, exactly?" asked Jou, as they sat in a small kissaten just outside the navy headquarters. Again, the other man smiled benevolently.  
"Our mutual friend sent me. He is a little worried that you might be withholding certain..goods from him and asked me to investigate."  
Jou's eyes darkened.  
"What sort of goods? Listen, if this is about the furisode, it's currently in repair. It will take another couple of weeks, but the-"  
His vis-à-vis waved him off with both hands.  
"Ie, it's not about the furisode."  
He folded his arms on the table and smiled again.  
"Rather about the one who _wore_ the furisode."  
All the pieces simultaneously clicked together in Jounouchi's brain.

Kaiba was busy screwing off the lid from a printer. Carefully he dislodged the OPC drum, then busied himself with the developper roller.  
"I thought you would never come here again", he stated.  
"I never said anything like that," replied Jounouchi, as he walked towards him, "I just wanted to take time for things to cool off."  
Kaiba snorted, as he put on latex gloves.  
"Really? Eight days is a long time for things to cool off." He reached for a handheld peristaltic pump to empty the toner hopper.  
"Why are you really here?" The brunet thought he imagined a pause before Jou replied,  
"Mokuba sent one of his- _your_ men to ask me about you. He was worried because you seemed to sound ..off."  
The toner adder roller was next. With practiced ease, the component was set aside on a plastic parchment.  
"Did you miss me?" The doctor blade.  
"Hai." A soft cloth, doused with cleaner, slid up and down the polluted metal surface.  
"Why didn't you come earlier? Or on your own volition?" Azure eyes inspected the shining strip of steel. Jounouchi shrugged.  
"I wanted to see how you would fare on your own."  
Elegant fingers checked the toner adder for any irregularities.  
"Fine. I'm doing excellent, as a fact."  
Jounouchi stepped closer, then crouched behind Seto.  
"No, your not. You're miserable."  
A snort, a smirk, the OPC drum.  
"And you came to that conclusion, how?" Amber eyes turned marron and sad.  
"You've lost weight. Your hair his brittle and lustreless. Not to mention the bags under your eyes-"  
"Well, excuse me for not taking the time to groom myself to perfection!" exploded Kaiba, never interrupting his actions.  
"It just so happens that my boyfriend, business partner and personal beauty attendant walked out on me! You might have met him; tall, blond, dumb as fuck and as touchy as a hungry supermodel on her period."  
Jounouchi gave a rueful smile.  
"Can't fault you on the dumb part," he mumbled.  
"I _must_ be dumb as fuck to have fallen for you."  
The toner hopper waited for processing. Seto turned around, eyes focused on Jou.  
"Really that bad?" This time, there wasn't enough energy left to smile.  
"What do you think?" Gloved hands reached for warm cheeks.  
"Baka." This time, a smirk.  
"I know you are, but what am I?" Blue turned indigo.  
"I have yet to figure that out, but one thing I am for certain."  
Jou felt the cool breath against his lips.  
"And that is?" Kaiba closed the distance.  
"Glad to have you back."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Don't go looking for that board game; I sucked this right out my fingers(looks at bitten nails). Literally. As for the laser printer, well, there's always the web, ne? So, our lovebirds are reunited. Kinda. Sorta. Shoulda.


	20. 20

XX

"You're what?"  
Ryuji Otogi was just about ready to throw in the towel.  
First Jounouchi showed up out of literally nowhere, then his CEO and business partner was starting to keep secrets fom him whilst turning KaibaCorp into the DeathStar and now this.  
Yuugi beamed, Ryou grinned.  
Mokuba sat on the edge of his desk, looking as if he were ready to pass out.  
"We're a couple", the star duelist reiterated. Ryou nodded happily.  
"Yes, at first we were uncertain where to go with this, but after we discussed it out and weighed the odds and benefits, we decided to give it a try."  
Slate-blue and green shifted back and forth between the two timid lovers.  
"Soo..?" asked Ryuji, though he was certain he didn't want to know. Yuugi replied,  
"So we decided to develop and launch my game independently, while offering Kaiba Corporation exclusive rights to any and all extensions and alternate versions that might come out in the future."  
Mokuba was floored. Otogi looked and acted like a beached carp. Amethyst eyes grew warm and serene. Stepping closer, Yuugi lay a hand on Mokuba's shoulder and declared,  
"It is the least I can offer, after all that you've done for me."  
Mokuba's mouth opened and closed a few times, before he muttered,  
"Do itashimashite..?"  
After laying out a rough draft for a possible contract, Ryou and Yuugi departed, leaving two very stunned corporate presidents behind.  
Otogi still stared at the door through which their friends had walked out, then sputtered,  
"Jaa, that came out of nowhere." Mokuba consented.  
"Hai, at this rate they'll be married within an year or two."  
The Dice Master snorted.  
"Gay marriage is not officially legal here. There's no way they could even get a partnership certificate, seeing as how Domino prefecture is still too backwater to go with the times."  
Mokuba shrugged.  
"Perhaps, but Ryou is British. They could get married over there."  
Otogi scowled.  
"I don't know, with Yuugi's current status, that might be somewhat troublesome."  
Mokuba mulled this over.  
"Doesn't Ryou's father stll hold some kind of diplomatic status?"  
The vice president nodded and explained,  
"Sure, but now that Ryou's finished with college, his father's immunity doesn't extend to him anymore. He would have to search for a different solution."  
"Yeah, but still.." They exchanged glances, then chorused,  
"Just odd."

Jounouchi just stared.  
"Erh..mou itte..?" Kaiba rolled his eyes.  
"Please pay attention, because this is really important. And I can't write down any information, for safety's sake." The blond nodded, then drew a deep breath.  
"Hai. Once more from the top."  
"Fine. Get to Senshu-choume, find banchi number seven, then head to the south-southwest. You will find a small passage between a Chinese coffee shop and a Karaage-ya. Walk forty steps down the road, then turn left into a little cul de sac. There is an abandoned shack-"  
"Matte, matte, you buried your whatever inside an abandoned shack?" Jou croaked incredulously. Kaiba merely gave him a cool gaze.  
"Of course not. The requested item is a brick in the wall adjacent to the neighbouring house."  
Jounouchi covered his face with his hand.  
"A..brick in the wall. Seriously? Have you ever considered that they might have torn down the place and rebuilt something new? That your brick is now under a pile of concrete rubble?!?"  
A chestnut brow rose.  
"I am fairly certain that no such thing has happened, since I left the item there." Jou pursed his lips.  
"And how can you be so sure of that?"  
The brow fell.  
"Simple. It's KaibaCorp property. As is the entire block."  
Jounouchi blinked.  
Kaiba merely sat there, suave and indifferent.  
Jounouchi drove both hands over his face.  
"I should have seen that coming, ne?"  
Kaiba smirked.  
"From a mile."

"-get his stuff himself, next time", grumbled Jou under his breath, as he neared the small hut. Glancing about to see if anyone was watching, he cautiously made his way across the desolate, litter-covered plot on which the hut stood. Every now and then he stumbled, seeing as it was already past nightfall, but he made it to the wall in one piece.  
Traipsing along the stone structure, he used the neighbouring houses to pinpoint the location of Kaiba's hidden treasure.  
Once in place, he turned on his torchlight and dimmed it down as far as possible  
"Different-shaded, different-shaded -oh thank you, Kaiba-asshole-san, how am I supposed to make out anything in the dark?" he snapped under his breath, letting his fingers glide across the rough surface.  
A grey brick, another grey brick, anothe -no wait, this one was sable. Or something. At least not grey.  
And it had scribbles covering it's surface; as if someone had used it to make algebraic equations on it.  
Jounouchi's brows shot up; even without recognizing the handwriting, he would have known it was Seto's trinklet.  
What a complete geek.

Mokuba glared at the object on his desk.  
A brick.  
Great.  
The raven-haired CEO rubbed his eyes tiredly.  
This day was just getting better by the minute.  
First their friends' wild announcement, then Nakamura telling him the blond had shaken him off, when he had trailed Jou after their metting, followed by the ministry of finance's letter that they were debating a full-scale investigation of his order backlog, and now Jounouchi had dropped by and left him with this brick.  
A sable, cracked, worn piece of concrete covered with numbers, kanji, roman letters...  
Mokuba's jaw dropped.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
*lol* I'm sorry, at first I wanted to go with some kind of box or CD-Rom, but then the brick just got stuck in my brain. Ryou and Yuugi..this is my first try at writing heartshipping(?), so please be lenient, arigatou.


	21. 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back again with a short, silent chapter

XXl

Himura Rikuto, chief petty officer first class, sat at the breakfast table on deck and studied the newspapers. There were a couple news from overseas; the US had tried to seize Guatemala but been forced back by both the rivaling armies as well as their few remaining allies, there had been a snow-storm in Norway, blocking several dozen villages from the outside world...  
One greying brow was cocked, when he turned the page and the title jumped at him,  
"Mutou Yuugi -King of Games back to inventing new game and showing off his prince!"  
Himura allowed himself the luxury of a derisive snort. Wile he wasn't exactly homophobic, he couldn't care less about the gay community either. Sure, there were a few decent folks in and between, but most of them were just high-strung pansies with too much time on their hands to whine about lattés and fashion hypes.  
Yet another snort, as the middle-aged naval officer returned to the front page, scanning the header.  
'KaibaCorp to introduce new DuelDisk!' it read, the article below stating,  
'In a surprise press conference, Kaiba Mokuba, CEO of KaibaCorporation, along with his vice president Ryuji Otogi, announced that their company has begun working on the newest generation of the DuelDisk. According to the CEO's, the system will be compatible with all its predeccessors, while also having a smaller, more compact and lighter build than any of the previous models.'  
'"We hope to begin production as early as New Years, preferably Christmas, though at this point it is still far too early to set any release date."'  
When asked about the whereabouts of his elder brother, Kaiba Seto, the CEO merely replied,  
'"I you see him, tell him to come home. I -we're waiting for him, no matter what."'  
Himura merely rolled his eyes.  
Stupid Kaiba, if the kid had just gone with the flow and given the...  
Something struck him. He flipped back to the social pages, then returned to the front. Muuto..Kaiba..they had both made their return, respectively announcement, within the same two days.  
And two days prior that strange private dick(Himura knew his kind, naval secrets et all that) had shown up out of literally nowhere and bugged the blond thorn in his side.  
Coincidence?  
Of course, and the Hoya Straits were filled with merfolk weaving silver baskets to catch sunrays and fallen stars.  
So, the guy shows up, talks to Jounouchi -and suddenly, KaibaCorp comes up with a new toy, huh? At the same time this Muuto kid decides to come out of retirement with his hubby.  
Brown-green eyes, freckled with grey, narrowed.  
It was time to keep a closer eye on Jounouchi Katsuya.

"This is getting ridiculous" stated Mokuba, glaring at the newest well, clue Jounouchi had delivered to him in person. Who merley shrugged and sighed,  
"You're telling me? I am the one who has to retrieve them. While your brother is busy playing with welt irons, slide rulers and a tablet for calculations and digital experiments."  
Black brows folded.  
"You do realize, these things have GPS, right? You might be jeopardizing his safety."  
the blond merely smirked.  
"Please, he's your ani. You really think something like a _tracking_ device would prove a challenge to him?"  
Mokuba conceded, then grumbled,  
"You're hiding him from me."  
Again, Jou shrugged.  
Slate-blue eyes narrowed.  
"I want you to lead me to him. Please."  
Jounouchi shook his head.  
"Dame desu. As you said yourself, we would be endangering his safety."  
Mokuba's tone turned accusary.  
"You're keeping him from me ", he growled. Jou nodded.  
"You, our friends and the rest of the world."  
"Doushite?"  
Jounouchi's expression turned silent and somber, as he cocked his head to one side and said,  
"Because he is mine now."

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Heh, don't you just love it when Jou goes all possessive? Also, Mokuba is slowly losing his patience. Makes one wonder, what the formerly mischievous little imp might cook up...


	22. 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two for one..and for reasons even I can't explain, it turned into a songfic. Just..bear through it. Though I did have a lot of fun writing this chappie.

XXll

The opaque, full-length curtains were atrocious.  
Jou almost stumbled over his own feet when he walked through the door the next evening and stared at the monstrosity blocking the bay window from view.  
Ultramarine, black, indigo, sky blue, dots of green and purple, flashes of white, ivory and turquoise, highlit by a full moon...  
"They also had this one in trashy, or was tasteless the only model at stock?" he asked, as he cautiously inspected the offensive draperie closer. Great, glow-in-the-dark, too.  
Seto merely shrugged, as he walked over.  
"It had the best cost-performance ratio. Besides, it's only on the inside. The outer lining is pure black, so no light can seep through, especially after nightfall."  
Jou pursed his lips.  
"Yeah, sure, but I mean..wow." Kaiba frowned.  
"Are they really that hideous?"  
The blond pinched the bridge of his nose.  
"Kaiba, you got three on five square metres large, black curtains with glowy ocean night print complete with an almost life-sized full moon. Even schoolgirls would think twice before hanging something like this on their bedroom walls."  
Ladies and gentlemen, enter stage left, the infamous Kaiba scowl.  
Crossing his arms, he sneered,  
"I can assure you, that I have seen similar themes as this in establishments all over the world."  
This time, the blond snorted in amusement.  
"Makes me wonder what kind of bars you frequented. Though I get a pretty good idea of their nature."  
Blue eyes narrowed, as if waiting for an accusation.  
Jounouchi smirked.  
"Reminds me of karaoke nights over at Naha."  
Seto cocked a brow.  
"So desu ka? And what where your favourites?" Jounouchi's smirk widened.  
"Classic, schmaltzy love songs from the Seventies upward."  
Ice glare.  
"Please don't." A malicious smile, as the blond closed the distance and purred into the brunet's ear,  
"Come on, even you should know this one. I'll provide the lyrics."   
He hummed softly, Seto furrowed his brow. Jou hummed some more, until his lover echoed the tune.   
Once he was sure the brunet recognized the song, he drew back, the smile now warm and demanding. Strong calloused fingers pulled at Seto's hairband, as Jou intoned,

_"Take the ribbon from your hair,  
shake it lose and let it fall,"  
Seto picked up as he reached for Katsuya's braid,  
"laying soft upon my skin,"  
the blond volleyed back,  
"like the shadows on the wall"  
The brunet paused, then tried,  
"Come and lay down by my side,  
'till the early morning light,"  
Jou urged him on,  
"all I'm taking is your time,"  
and replied,  
"help me make it through the night"._

Chestnut flowed in a wave of silk over pale, strong shoulders, and Katsuya murmured,

_"I don't care who's right or wrong,  
I don't try to understand"  
Seto pressed a finger against his lips, muttering,  
"Let the devil take tomorrow  
Lord, tonight I need a friend"  
A kiss, as tresses of spun gold untwirled,  
"Yesterday is dead and gone  
And tomorrow is out of sight  
And it's sad to be alone"  
rasped Katsuya,  
"Help me make it through the night"_

Slowly, swaying to the melody only they heard, the lovers steered towards the bed. Seto dipped his tongue into Katsuya's left clavicule, making the blond moan. Kissing his way up the long neck, Seto mumbled,

_"I don't care who's right or wrong,  
I don't try to understand"  
Katsuya hissed at the hickey he recieved,  
"Let the devil take tomorrow,  
Lord, tonight I need a friend"  
Seto gently pushed Katsuya on his bed; opening the blond's shirt, he sighed,  
"Yesterday is dead and gone"  
Katsuya drove a hand over Seto's chest, whispering,  
"And tomorrow is out of sight"  
Their lips touched, ever so chastely, as Katsuya breathed,  
"And, it's sad to be alone,"  
Another kiss, and he finished,  
"Help me make it through the night"_

Bits and pieces of the refrain could be heard, as they undressed each other, kissing, nibbling, moaning, as their bodies intertwined, wrapped around each other, mended, melted together, writhing, moving in slow rythm; lost whispers and forgotten vows drifting through the air, until sleep took claim.  
That's how the morning sun found them.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
I'm going with the late John Holt's version here. Though many other great singers have performed this song admirably, Holt's take on it just fits both the mood and the setting better. Listen for yourself:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0vxnKrbwLk


	23. 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back again, and a little arguement...

Xlll

"Tweezers."  
"Welding iron and silver."  
"Now, I need you to apply the prongs here and here. Keep them steady, we don't want the edgeboard contacts to break."  
"The other way around-stop. Keep it in position."  
"Almost there. If we can connect the spinning mirror to the interface, we should be just about done."  
In all honesty, Otogi was just about done with _this_. He had two meetings with both the directors' board and then some potential distributours, his desk was piled high with papers ranging from tax reports, wage accounting to capital expenditure, and Mokuba insisted on experimenting with the new DuelDisk.  
So far, they were at prototype number twelve, he was exhausted, Mokuba was cranky and if he didn't get a shower and a nap before the meeting he would most like rip the marketing director's head off-  
The BEWD roared to life. Denser, seemingly tangible, with an amount of detail that left both men breathless.  
Every sinew, every muscle contraption, every shift of colour down to the smallest scale and individual vein in the dragon's eyes stood out like a relief.  
The beast roared anew, and for a split-second, there was something like..a flicker. As if some pixels were not being reflected correctly or as if some wires needed reattaching.  
And then it struck Mokuba.  
Grabbing Otogi by his sleeve, he yelled,  
"We need to get to the Duel Arena, and I do mean now! If what I guess is true, then o-nii-sama just made a breakthrough like never before!"  
Otogi at this point couldn't care less.

Jounouchi Katsuya rubbed his hands over his face.  
Five days so far, and Kaiba had holed himself back up in his little world of cables, voltmetres and blueprints. He barely acknowledged the blond's presence, less returned this one's affections.  
Jounouchi was at the end of his rope. So far, he had tried everything, from cooking Seto fresh meals(they had gotten a broken miniature stove running), constructing a bookshelf, a tool board and an indoor terrace system in which he could grow vegetables, to massages, collective showers and bluntly rubbing his body against Seto's. The only thing he hadn't done at this point was to rip the brunet's clothes off, throw him on the bed and fuck him till it broke.  
"Seto, come on" he groaned.  
"Hnh."  
"Don't make me beg."  
"Then don't."  
"Seto, seriously, in three weeks I have to board ship again, and from what the last briefing said, we'll be gone for at least eighteen months."  
Kaiba paused in his movements, then glanced at the blond.  
"Three weeks, hnh." He contemplated for a moment.  
"That should be just about enough time." Jou scowled.  
"Enough time for what?" Seto didn't answer, but returned back to his work.  
Gracefully raising from his seated position, Jounouchi walked over to where his lover was working and asked,  
"What are you up to, Kaiba Seto?"  
A smirk, a snort.  
"What you set out to make me achieve."  
"Seto, we only got another three weeks."  
"I am aware of that." Hazel eyes narrowed.  
"Apparently you aren't, or you wouldn't be starving me."  
"Now you're being hyperbolic." Jou felt his rage build up, along with his lust.  
"I want you."  
"So desu, ne." The petty officer's fists shook.  
"No, I want you so badly it hurts. And you're just brushing it off as if it were no big deal, while I'm abbout to go crazy here."  
The brunet sighed.  
"If you would learn to control yourself-"  
Jounouchi slapped the screwdriver from his hand, grabbed the brunet by his shoulders and forced him around, shouting,  
"Stop ignoring me! Stop acting as if you didn't knew that each time I set sails I might not come back! You're being in denial and-"  
Kaiba punched him in the chest, Jounouchi retaliated with a right hook to his face. Straddling the fallen brunet, his voice brimmed with despair.  
"I don't know what to do with you! You're going from 'Fuck me till I bleed' to 'Touch me and die' in the blink of an eye! How do you expect me to cope with that kind of attitude change!"  
"Life is all about change. Get used to it."  
Jou was fuming at this point.  
"I am, but you have gotten so comfortable with your new lifestyle, that you want to retain the status quo. Weren't you the one who told me he missed his old life? The power, the luxury, the infinite possibilities to hone your skills and use your abilities to their full extent?"  
The former CEO stared baffled at the furious blond. Who, trying to regain some semblance of composure, slid off his waist and added in a quieter tone,  
"I want you back. We all want you back. But instead of talking to me, letting me in, you hole yourself up in here, plotting and tinkering away, as if nothing else mattered."  
Brown locked with blue.  
"Seto, when I met you, I was was not as much shocked that you had to sell yourself, but that you would agree to bottom. That's what hurt me the most, that my proud dragon would not insist on being on top!"  
Kaiba rolled his eyes.  
"I'm a demi." Jou faltered.  
"Nani?"  
"It means that I'm comfortable being either top or bottom. Depending on my mood and the circumstances."  
"So the circumstances told you to bottom, ne?" Blue eyes softened.  
"If it bothers you, that some random stranger took my virginity, you needn't worry. I had been with someone else for a while, before everything dissolved into chaos."  
Jou felt the knot in his stomach. He couldn't help it, he needed to know.  
"Who? And if you tell me Otogi, I will have to kill you and then him."  
Kaiba chuckled.  
"Please. As if I would let quick-and-easy anywhere near my bed." His eyes softened further, when Katsuya's expression grew darker.  
"It was the son of one of my business associates. We had met at a director's function some months prior to graduation and found we got along pretty well. We kept our relationship hidden, knowing it was just a fling for the both of us."  
Slender fingers ran through Katsuya's golden bangs,  
"He had blond hair and brown eyes, alot like you. Only his were more ashen and less spun gold like yours."  
He took Katsuya's strong chin between two fingers and muttered,  
"We never kissed." Jou's eyes widened.  
"Seriously? Not once?" Seto shook his head as he closed the distance between them.  
"As you once pointed out so correctly, I was waiting for that special someone."  
If Jounouchi hadn't been in love before, he surely would have lost his heart to Seto at that very moment, as this one pressed his soft lips on his own.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Ok, I'll try to can the sap from here onwards.


	24. 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not much Jou and Seto in this one, but a couple plot twists. Enjoy and please R&R, aigatou.

XXlV

He was pulled into the alley and slammed against the wall with enough force to rattle his teeth.  
"Ok, buddy, I'm pretty much done with you. Every time I got you in my peripheral vision, I blink and you're gone! Care to explain?"  
Gazing into the angry face of his attacker, the addressed gulped.  
"Ja, since I know the town very much by heart, it is rather simple for me to give you the slip. Though I didn't think you'd be able to sneak up on me like that-"  
"Urusai!"° came the snarled reply,  
"I'm not in the mood to play pussy foots with you. You keep running me in circles and I am sick and tired of it. Now fess up, where were you off to, before I decided we needed to have a little chat?"  
Again, the pinned one swallowed, then rasped,  
"I -really can't tell you. It would jeopardize everything I've worked on so far, and the consequences-"  
"Are going to be a whole lot direr, if you don't start talking. Where were you headed?"  
His only answer consisted of a headshake.  
Fierce eyes bore into stubborn, slightly shaken, but determinded ones. Finally, he was let go and the other one spat,  
"This isn't the end of it. Trust me, I got eyes everywhere, and I have ways to monitor your every move. Plus,"  
he leaned in so close, his vis-a-vis could count the lashes individually,  
"it is a legal offence to stalk a naval officer. It might be considered an act of espionage, and trust me, the guys over at interrogation are some of the most fucked-up bastards I've ever met", growled Jounouchi, before stalking away. As an afterthought, he added over his shoulder,  
"Honto ni. Stay away from me. It's not a good idea to piss me off, and you've put your mug on the list, already."  
Nakashima Kunio watched, as the blond disappeared into the labyrinth of alleys, swift and silent as a cat.  
Himura would not be pleased.

"We need to get married."  
A soft sigh.  
"Mmhm."  
"No really, we do!"  
Fabric rustled, as the comforter shifted.  
"Seriously, Yuugi, are you even listening to me?" exclaimed Ryou.  
"Mniu."  
Groaning, the pale Brit stalked over to where his lover and business partner lay underneath the blankets, stretching and yawning like a spoiled cat. Putting his fists on his hips, Ryou stated,  
"Muutou Yuugi, I am perfectly aware that you're still in the throws of post-coital bliss, but this is important! After all, it was _your_ idea in the first place."  
Amethyst eyes blinked.  
"It was?"  
Ryou barely refrained from rolling his eyes.  
"Anata, you know that once we're married, we can move to Luton, Wycomb, Brighton, Portsmouth, Hastings, Southend-on-Sea..anywhere you like. Just as long as it's not Manchester."  
Splinters, pale pink and purple, glistened mischieviously.  
"Liverpool?" Ryou glared.  
"I hate you so much right now."  
Yuugi chuckled, then stretched and kicked off the comforter, remaining laying face-down.  
"Ii desu, ne. You're right. Once we're legally married, we can move production over to the UK, so the government will stop breathing down my neck."  
Ryou's chocolate orbs ghosted over the King of Game's lithe, pale rose body, the slash welts on his back, the telltale signs of faded burn marks...  
Stepping closer, he bent over his lover's, now fiancé's, body and rained butterfly kisses on the exposed skin. Yuugi startled, then relaxed.  
"I thought we were in a hurry?"  
Ryou kissed the spot below the shoulderblade, where a part of flesh was missing, after the surgeons had removed the necrotic tissue that had been the result of an interrogation gone horribly wrong.  
The white-maned Brit knelt down to look his love in the eyes and hushed,  
"It's okay. This much time we got."

"Computer, end simulation!" ordered Mokuba, then descended the Duel Platform. On the other side of the arena, Otogi did the same, rubbing his now naked left forearm.  
"Damn, that stung! I could actually _feel_ that!" he complained, readjusting the DuelDisk he carried underneath his right arm.  
Mokuba nodded.  
"You know the previous systems would add sounds and even external effects to make the whole experience more lifelike, ne? Such as gusts of wind or flashes of light?"  
Ryuji conceded, still inspecting his sore arm. Mokuba's face turned serious.  
"Ja, o-nii-san took it to the next level. Did you see how the images seemed unstable when we dueled sans platform? Remember how much difficulties we had when we tried adjusting the display perimetres to the source output?"  
Otogi nodded again, then paused, when something struck him.  
"Mazaka+", he rasped, staring at his CEO. Who furrowed his brow and said quietly,  
"The new system works exactly oppositary. It feeds directly into the neural system of the duelists, causing their brains to evoke the according physical reactions. Heat, cold, rain, snow..the more sensitive a person is, the greater the effects."  
A shiver ran down the vice president's back.  
"That-that's..terrifying" he muttered. Mokuba's expression went grim.  
"That's why Seto-nii-san hid it. And that's why we can't release it, no matter what."

Himura turned in his swivel chair, then rose from his seat. Arms folded behind his back, he slowly paced his office, then looked out the window.  
"So, he knows what you look like, ne?" he asked his employee-of-sorts. Who replied,  
"Hai.The kid is good, I got to give him that. Never thought he would catch on to me that quick. Or at all."  
The chief petty officer sucked on his front teeth. Glancing at Nakashima, he opted,  
"Do you know of any -colleagues of yours, who would be interested in the job?"  
The slender, salt-and-pepper haired man with the beautous eyes and sharp nose shook his head.  
"Ie, No one would dare take it. Besides, he knows he's being followed now, so he will be twice as observant."  
Himura sighed, then turned around. Reaching for a drawer in his desk, he mumbled,  
"Jaa, guess I'll have to pay you out, then. How much-"  
Nakashima shook his head vehemently.  
"Just the expenses. I didn't finish the job, so I can't charge you the fee." Himura's brows shot up.  
"Are you sure, you're a shiritsutantei*?" Nakashima scoffed, as he was handed three crisp Higuchis.#  
"I used to be a senior superintendent. Some moral ethics never wane."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Heh, a private dick with high standards, whodda thunk? The direct neural stimulation is, as intriguing and useful as it sounds, actually quite unsettling. Knowing human nature, one can only imagine how it would be abused. Next up, Jou and Seto and other..stuff.

°Urusai: Shut up/Be quiet; in this context equal to Bullshit  
+Mazaka: Incredible/Impossible/No way  
*shiritsutantei: the 'tantei' gave this one away, private detective/investigator  
#Higuchi Ichiyo; she is pictured on the front of the 5000 Yen note. Japan's first major female writer of the Meiji period(1872 -1896)


	25. 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post this one too. Why? Because it was finished. And it has a slice of lemon.

XXV

Seto stared down at the layout.  
"Sector fifteen, the DuelDisks and extensions. Crate number four."  
"Crate number four" echoed Jounouchi, as he placed each one of the mentioned items in the large box and attached a post-it reading 'fifteen' on it.  
"Gas containers, sealed and chained, sub sector twenty-eight, the pressure chamber."  
"Pressure chamber, sub twenty-eight."  
Seto was in a frenzy.  
Being Kaiba, he had of course prepared for any worst-case scenario and practically from the very beginning, when he had made this place his hideout, scouted the area for safeplaces, emergency exits and what not more. With Katsuya's help, he had overhauled the originally rather primitive web of dead-ends and booby-trapped paths to a security system he could quasi approve of.  
No electronics, the general construction of the dock was far to corrosive for anything requiring constant electricity, but failsave and occasinally even somewhat..comical.  
The 'broken' drainage pipe had the blond questioning things, and when Seto explained the 'tar' pit to him in detail, Jou began to seriously doubt his lover's sanity.  
Once the brunet had learned about the private dick, he had immediately sprung into action. He distributed his belongings, everything that could be moved and hidden, within the dockyard. Jounouchi helped him where he could, as the former corporate president worked simultaneously on various defect home appliances, designed projects, oversaw the enforcement of his hideout and had his boyfriend run errands, i.e. bring hidden objects to Mokuba and drop letters at KaibaCorp.  
On the other hand, Jou was grateful for Nakashima's interference.  
It was a wake-up call for Seto, reminding him that they were running out of time, and fast. Not only was he working now double time to finish everything he had planned and started, he had stopped keeping Katsuya at arm's length and whole-heartedly accepted any romantic or sexual advances this one made.  
More often than not, Jou led the tired brunet to the shower, where he helped him cleanse himself, just to guide him to the bed and pound him through the matress, until Seto fell asleep. Other times, Kaiba would return home from some patrol or another, just to find a very naked, very aroused and very well-lubed Katsuya on is bed, waiting to be plundered for all it was worth.  
As the days passed, the couple grew more and more desperate, hungry; happily drinking each other's seed, endulging in perverted kinks and fantasies and often leaving painful ownership marks on each other's bodies.  
His fellow seamen cackled, when nine days before leave Jounouchi appeared on deck, walking more than a little crosslegged. Who was still better off than Seto, who spent the entire day using a staff and an anal plug to keep the ointment well within his abused rectum.

Six days, and Kaiba was ready to wrap things up. Currently, he was laying on his bed, while Katsuya busied himself with sucking his boyfriend off.  
Sapphire eyes closed in delight, even as a low baritone mumbled,  
"I'll never get this done, if you don't stop." Which made Katsuya hollow his cheecks and force even more of his boyfriend's magnificent cock down his throat.  
Seto groaned, then shifted his position.  
"You're not going to let me finish, ne?" Katsuya chuckled, the vibrations shattering Seto's resolve. Laying on his back, he spread his legs and draped his ankles over Jounouchi's shoulders, pulling him closer.  
Who waisted no time pushing his erection into the brunet's puckered hole and covering the pale complexion with passionate kisses.  
Seto smiled lazily, then gasped, when Katsuya plunged into him with one forceful thrust.  
Hard and fast, relentless, throbbing, pulsating members spewing forth semen, until their bodies were slick and sticky.  
Jounouchi panted, as he pulled his still weeping cock from Seto's well-stretched anus and collapsed next to his boyfriend. This one reveled in the afterglow, then stated,  
"That wasn't very smart. Amazing, incredible, downright earth-shattering, but not very smart."  
Jou gazed at him quizzically. The brunet smiled tiredly.  
"You still got to deliver one final parcel to Mokuba."  
Even for a naval officer, the swears following that statement were utterly inexcusable.

He gave the raven-haired CEO Seto's newest trinklet.  
Who inspected it, then nodded, before pulling a letter from underneath his writing mat and, handing it to Jounouchi, declared,  
"When you see o-nii-san, tell him we're going along with this plan. With or without his consent."  
When Jounouchi delivered the message along with the letter, Kaba scowled, opened the enveloppe and scanned the letter. Once through, he smiled and then began to laugh.  
Katsuya had never heard anything like it.  
Not a mere snort or his usual low chuckle, not even the maniacal cackling from his teenaged years, but a good, hearty, deep-down belly laugh.  
It made Jounouchi want to fall to his knees and thank the kami for being born.  
Finally, the laughter subsided, then Seto smirked,  
"Perfect.That's my otoutou, for sure. Soon all the pieces will be in place."  
Jou cocked his head.  
"Pieces? As in reclaiming your throne?"  
Blue eyes gazed at him, then Seto lowered his head, smiling.  
"Funny you would refer to it like that. But yes, that is exactly it."  
Jounouchi pursed his lips.  
"Ototgi won't like it."  
The brunet gave a snort.  
"Ototgi is the least of my problems. If Mokuba managed to sneak even one single one of the amendments past federal scrutiny, I am beyond extradition. I will no longer be held accountable for the _failings_ of my warfare systems and thus be practically exonerated."  
Katsuya blinked, then frowned.  
"How the hell would you pull that off?" Kaiba smirked.  
"It was something that you said. That Japan is still under martial law, ne? Meaning, if I sell my shares of KaibaCorp in equal parts to Mokuba and the government, the majority of the company would still remain in our hands, while simultaneously also being under the aegis of the state."  
A shiver ran down Jounouchi's back.  
"But..we have pending truces with several of the countries you wronged! Japan cannot afford to go to war with them!" he shouted. Seto gazed at him, serenly.  
"Japan doesn't. But England does." Jou narrowed his eyes.  
"What does the UK got to do with anything?" The brunet allowed a small smile to curl his lips.  
"Simple. By agreeing to give them exclusive joint assets to any KaibaCorp related research -of course all within federal restrictions -they will be happy to aid and protect their allies, speak investments."  
Katsuya merely stared.  
For probably the first time in his entire life he realized exactly on what scale Kaiba Seto played, how much power he truly had wielded, even when merely a teenager.  
His head spun, and for a moment he felt physically sick, when he imagined how easily his now boyfriend could have had him removed, disappear off the face of the earth, back then.  
Seto, misinterpreting his love's sudden pallor, leant forwards worriedly.  
"Daijoubu ka?" he asked, one hand on the blond's back, "you don't need to be worried."  
Jou shook his head, drawing deep breaths, hands resting on his knees.  
"It's not that, just..how are you going to do all that?" Seto shrugged.  
"It all stands and falls with Mokuba, now. But from what I've seen in the papers and read in his letter, we should have free sailing, soon."  
Jou squinted one eye at him.  
"Are you sure?"  
Seto rose to his full height and, arms crossed before his chest, smirked.  
"I'm Kaiba Seto, remember?"

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
Again, don't even bother telling me that Seto's plan wouldn't work in a million years; I am perfectly aware of that. I just wanted to write something so over-the-top, so dazzingly improbable that only Kaiba could pull it off. Hopefully, I succeeded. As for the traps..think Indiana Jones meets Mad Max meets Cabin in the Woods. Just a little less..lethal.


	26. 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lose thread is taken care of as time moves forward, fast

XXVl

It had leaked.  
Something had leaked.  
Not due to Nakashima, that much was sure, but one of his higher-ups had clued into what he had done and reacted swiftly. Himura was demoted and expelled so quickly, Jounouchi didn't realize it until he found his older petty officer moved up to assistant chief.  
That was when it dawned on Jou, how much Himura had hated him, and he decided to issue a restriction warrant against the former chief petty officer.

Mokuba stared at his visitor.  
"You want me to what?"  
Jounouchi repeated his request. Mokuba drove both hands over his face, then eyed the blond wary.  
"Are you feeling well?"  
Finally, he relented, and Jou left the KaibaCorp building with a large, overly stuffed travel bag.   
Now to find a well-equipped beauty shop.

Seto looked warily at the scissors in Katsuya's hand.  
Who crooked a finger at him and beckoned,  
"Here, kitty kitty kitty." The brunet scowled.  
"I am not a cat." Jou smirked.  
"Yes you are. You're a scaredy cat. Koko ni oide."  
Seto frowned.  
"Are you sure you know how to handle these?" he asked. Jou merely rolled his eyes.  
"Please. If you're stuck at sea for weeks, with nothing better to do, you pick up one or the other hobby." Seto returned the smirk.  
"Like crossdressing." Katsuya glowered.   
"You're one to talk, _onnagata_. Last time I checked, you looked like I had just bailed you off from a °baishun-yadou."  
"I am _not_ a whore!" roared Seto. Then paused, and added, "Oh, wait."  
Jou facepalmed, then huffed.  
"Look, can we just get this over with? It's getting late, and I have to report back to ship, tonight." Grumbling, Seto sat on his favourite chair and allowed Katsuya to drape a towel around his neck and shoulders.  
"So, anything special in mind, or-"  
"The usual," replied Seto," as you said, I'm going to take back what's mine. Meaning, I should look like myself, ne?" Jou smiled, as he wrapped Seto's long ponytail around his left hand.  
"Unh."  
The scissor blades slid through the thick bundle of hair, and in the ensuing echo, something ended. Jou closed his eyes for a moment, as he felt the pang in his heart, and Seto pressed his lips together, feeling his lungs constrict and his throat tighten painfully.   
Then Jou put the silky tuft into his breastpocket and set to work.  
It took him almost two hours, the sun had long sunk behind the horizon, but finally, it was done. Seto glanced at himself in the mirror, having Jou correct minor irregularities, then nodded approvingly. Katsuya took a deep breath.  
"Ja, how do you feel?" Seto blinked, then frowned.  
"Strange. As if..I were not myself. And yet..." He trailed off, not knowing how to word his emotions. Jou removed the towel and embraced him from behind.  
"Shirimasu," he rasped, "that's how I felt when I first found you."  
They remained like that for a while, then Jou kissed the nape of Seto's neck(a pluspoint, he thought, not having to fight through the long tresses) and hushed,  
"Ja, gotta skip. Don't want anybody to come -looking for me."  
It was a pause, so curt, so indescirnable, but Kaiba picked it up.  
"Nani o shite?" he asked, but Jou shook his head.  
"Nothing, just..a tingleing in my ears. Ne, I'll be seeing you tomorrow" he added, picking up his tools and carrying the hair-covered towel to the bathroom.  
"What about your bag?" queried Seto. Jou shook his finger at him.  
"Ie, nozukunai+. You don't want to spoil the surprise, ne?"  
A wink, as smile, a quick peck on the lips, and Jounouchi was gone.  
Seto cocked one brow, then decided to shower and go to bed.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
The haircut scene..I actually felt that. As for Himura..he's not the only one who recognizes a gumshoe from a distance.

°baishun-yado: brothel -yes, that was pretty low from Jounouchi  
+Ie, nozukunai: No, no peeking/don't peek


	27. 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looong chapter ahead

XXVll

He awoke with a stifled yawn, feeling slightly constricted and yet less sweaty than usual. Running his hand through his hair, he noted the short crop and smiled at the memory. Blinking tiredly, he swung his legs out of bed, still half asleep.  
His boyfriend was kneeling in front of him, grasped his right foot and gently forced it into one of his, Seto's, boots.  
Kaiba, not really comprehending what was going on, readily offered Jounouchi his second sock-clad limb, even as his eyes wandered up the skin-tight, black leather slacks, the broad belt with the iconic buckle-  
Say what?  
Azure eyes widened, as he inspected his attire:  
his sweater, still slightly too lose, but complete with arm binders, the mid-calf high boots with the straps, even his trade-marked bracers...  
Jounouchi rose to his feet and, tugging at Seto's hand, demanded,  
"Get up."  
Seto, still not quite sure if he was in one of his fantasies or having an episode, did as told.  
Katsuya meanwhile had draped a towel over Seto's shoulders and was expertly styling his hair into its original look.  
The brunet was gradually acclaiming a grasp on reality, as he watched Jounouchi walk over and ruffle through his travel bag, back to him. Finally, Jou stood and turned, and Seto's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.  
Coming to a stand in front of him, Jounouchi placed the smaller one of the two items he held on the floor, then offered the bigger one to the brunet.  
Still in a semi trance-like state, the former CEO slipped into his white duster and shuddered, as he felt the all too familiar weight on his shoulders.  
Smoothing out the soft, firm fabric, he felt a tingle, a spark of electricity race through his body. He gaped at Katsuya, who held his beloved briefcase out to him.  
Seto took it, baffled at its weight. He straightened, adjusted his posture, allowing his muscles, his mind to draw and work from memory. Katsuya chuckled.  
"That was stupid."  
Kaiba rose a brow.  
"Why?"  
"Because now you have to strip naked again, so I can fuck you senseless."  
The brunet snarked,  
"And here I thought, _I_ was the power addict." Strong, calloused hands encased his face.  
"Please. Why do you think I was so driven to see my dragon soar again?"  
Seto moved closer.  
"Because you're a possessive bastard?" This time, it was Jou's turn to smirk.  
"Because I am a possessive bastard who won't settle for anything less than a dragon for a mate."  
They kissed, passionately, until Seto reluctantly let go of Jounouchi, fighting for air. He smiled at his boyfriend, then made for the door.  
One step was as far as he got, before Katsuya halted him with one outstretched hand.  
"Matta, ne. There is one more thing missing."  
Seto frowned, and then his heart stopped. Allowing Jounouchi to fare, he felt the comforting touch of the chain, the sorely missed bounce of the locket as it slid into place, and his eyes filled with tears.  
Golden eyes, shimmering with pride, love, loss, sadness and satisfaction held his own, now overflowing azure ones, even as tender hands wiped away the salty pearls. Finally, Seto regained his composure, drove the cold wet towel Jou offered him over his face and stood straight.  
Jou tilted his head, smiling.  
"You ready to go?"  
And this time, _Kaiba_ Seto smirked.  
"Lets."  
Jounouchi Katsuya nodded, firmly.  
"Ikko."

He had rented a car.  
A beautiful, black and blue Lamborghini Gallado, that practically screamed money and decadence. It rolled to a halt in front of the KaibaCorp office, and Jounouchi descended the vehicle.  
The portier raised both brows, then stepped closer-  
He stared in complete and utter shock when he saw his former employer walk around the expensive wagon, gaping in incredulous awe at the unmistakeable figure.  
All but scrambling to hold the door open for the brunet, he stuttered a welcome and almost fell over bowing, even as Kaiba gave a tilt of his lips and an approving nod as he passed by.  
Maki Nobuka actually dropped her phone, when Kaiba strode into the hall. Clasping her hands in front of her mouth, she got to her feet and shortened the distance between her and her previous boss. For a moment she looked as if she wanted to embrace him, then remembered her manners and his status and gave a low bow.  
"O-kaeri nasai, Kaiba-sama. It is a great pleasure to have you back."  
Seto returned the bow with a nod and stated,  
"It is good to be back. And to see that you're still holding the fort."  
The older woman beamed at that, then asked,  
"Would you like for me to inform your brother about-"  
Seto shook his head.  
"Let it be a surprise. To everybody."  
With that, he strode towards his private elevator, elegantly, purposefully, as if he hadn't just spent the past three years in limbo.  
Jounouchi, who stayed behind, watched his dragon vanish behind the polished steel doors, then winked at Maki-san.  
The head secretary gave him a smile of such gratitude, he saw himself forced to clear his throat in touched embarassment.

Mokuba groaned in mock exasperation.  
"We really should stop meeting like this" he said to the person once again occuppying his seat.  
"We really should", replied Seto, as he swerved around and rose in one swift motion.  
Whatever Mokuba had wanted to say, whatever thoughts had passed through his mind, vanished. He merely stood there, thunderstruck, the hammering beat of his heart drowning out every other sound, as he gazed at this apparition, this mirage of his ani in full business attire. For a moment, his head spun and he felt strangely weightless, when he rasped,  
"Kami..sama." Seto chuckled.  
"O-nii-san will be quite sufficient, arigatou." His smile dropped as he watched in mild worry how his younger brother staggered past him and dropped into the massive leather chair.  
Slate-blue eyes, wide with wonder and oh so delicate hope, took in the former CEO in his entirety, then locked with warm sapphires.  
He swallowed the lump in his throat and muttered,  
"You're back." The warmth spread to his face, his smile, when he replied,  
"I'm back, Mokuba. Back for good."

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Gomen, but the thought of Jounouchi dressing up Seto in his sleep was just too tantalizing. Since the locket is often also used as a key I figured, Seto would have left it with Mokuba for safekeeping. Hence the younger brother's incredulous reaction.


	28. 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As we reach the end of our story, I would like to give thanks to everybody wo left kudos and a special shoutout to talyag, Cleopatra (empressofthelight), Tomski_19 and dsr5117 who's comments always made me chuckle and smile. This one's for you, folks.  
> Arigatou gozaimashita

XXVlll

One more day, one more night.  
He stood in Seto's hideout, gazing out the bay window into the gray and white and turquoise vastness.  
How befitting.  
It was raining.  
One more day, one more night.  
Soft steps drew his attention and he glanced over his shoulder.  
True enough, Seto stood there, casually dressed in jeans and a black windcheater.  
He walked over and came to a stand next to Jounouchi, their shoulders touching.  
For a while the couple stood there, watching the rain and clouds and waves, then Seto hushed,  
"It's your home, now." Jou regarded him in surprise.  
"Mine? Why? Aren't you going to keep it?" His boyfriend shook his head.  
"Dame desu. I'm moving back in with Mokuba. Besides, as far as I know, you have no real home either, ne?"  
Jou conceded, then sighed.  
"Still, without you..it's meaningless." Seto rested one hand on his broad shoulder.  
"It _is_ your home now, too. I'll look after it, while you're gone. After all, until everything is settled, I will need a place to withdraw, if the situation arises."  
Upon Katsuya's scowl, he smiled.  
"Don't worry. I won't let anybody else in. Not even Mokuba. This is _our_ place. Our haven."  
Reassured, Katsuya snuggled into his love's embrace, rasping,  
"Please. Make love to me."  
Seto's voice grew thick with emotion.  
"I thought you'd never ask."

Ryuji Otogi felt like hitting his head against the desk, repeatedly. Now that Kaiba had returned, he had been demoted from vice president, the title being handed over to the former CEO. Nothing really changed; none of his competences or privileges were altered, he still remained head of finances and PR, but -it was a huge blow to his ego.  
And now this.  
Yuugi and Ryou were moving to England -not today or tomorrow, mind you, but once Kaiba Corporation had reassumed some semblance of order and the dust had settled, Mokuba would make certain that the couple would find their happily ever after overseas.  
As for Seto..the brunet had considerably calmed down. Not quite as flamboyant and derogative, he showed a quieter, more patient side of himself -if not provoked. Testing him was still not a good idea, as several opponents had come to realize in a rather painful way.  
Sighing, Otogi picked up the slack and focused back on work, wondering where his once again elusive boss might have wandered off to. 

One more hour.  
The harbour was swarming with people; naval staff of all kinds, family members, officials...  
It didn't matter.  
Hidden away in a secretive, rarely used shack, Seto and Katsuya made the best of what little time they had left.  
Kisses, nips, bites, scratches...  
When Seto bent Katsuya over a forgotten bench, thrusted and finally released into him, Jounouchi cried out in satisfaction and despair. For a moment, they caught their breath, then switched positions. When Seto came this time he sobbed, unable to hold back his tears, as he felt Katsuya's semen trickle down his thighs. They spent the remaining fourteen minutes crying, clinging to each other, making vows beyond words and speach.  
Outside, the heavens cleared.

"You will be back, will you?" Jounouchi closed his eyes and smiled.  
"Of course I will. Never mind what happens, I will come back, one way or another."  
He faced Seto, pulled a small petal satchel from his pocket, and handed it over to the CEO.  
"We've both never been too good at saying these words in public. So, I want you to hang on to this until I return."  
He gave Seto one last chaste peck on his cheek, then sauntered up the walkway without a single backward glance.  
Seto stood there on the dock, long after the ship was out of sight, then looked at the small purse in his hand. He loosened the drawstrings, which were held together by a wooden netsuke in the shape of a tiny BEWD and peeked into the satchel.  
A single tear danced in his eye, when he shook the content onto his palm and reveled in the colours of the sunset reflected from the simple, silverwhite band.

_owari_

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And this is how the story ends. No fireworks, no wedding bells, just a simple, quiet goodbye and a promise.  
Once again, many many thanks to all of you who followed this story, who commented and left kudos. I always appreciate knowing that you enjoy my writing. So until my next story, take care, stay safe and matta ne.

Felidae


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